Kochi,the latest member of the Indian Premier League,seems,in cricketing terms,like the 12th man among the big metros. But in the age of bespoke local charms,it could be a winnerDo you define a city by its sights? Then here is one. At 7.30 in the evening,on one end of Kochi,a gigantic Chinese fishing net is lowered into jade-green waters that noisily splash against the coast. Huge boulders hanging from ropes on one side of a wooden cantilever are slowly released. A fisherman steps on a wooden plank jutting into the sea and walks forward,balancing what looks like a medieval torture device,and the net sinks,while a single naked bulb hangs over the water,luring in some silver sardines,mackerel and a few squiggles of shrimp. And here is another. A few kilometres away,a trio of luxury yachts that have gambolled down the Arabian Sea are wallowing in the still night,as a marina,Indias first,comes up on the Bolghatty Island. This is Kochi at its contrarian best. Kochi,the latest member of the Indian Premier League (IPL),seems,in cricketing terms,like the 12th man among the big metros: it is,at the same time,an overgrown fishing village and the new playground of the yacht lot.The city has got its flannels,although,as critic Sadanand Menon says,Kerala has never been particularly known for its cricket. Yes,Sreesanth tried to breakdance on the pitch but that was it. We were known for football,athletics and even the traditional snakeboat race, says Menon. But a 17-year-old boy bowling offspin at the nets of Bhavans School at Elamakkara refuses to listen to such heresy. Sreekesh Prabhu has scotch-taped his gods on the bedroom wall: Sachin Tendulkar,Harbhajan Singh,Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth. The Kerala pace bowler is an old boy of Bhavans,as are Tinu Yohannan,the first Malayali face in India XI,and Vivek Venugopal,who is part of the consortium Rendezvous Sports World Ltd that has bought the franchise for the Kochi IPL for $333.33 million. Bhavans cricket captain Afeef Ansal says,I am really happy that even our city is part of IPL. It is a huge motivating factor and could fast-track cricketers to the top. Meanwhile,Prabhu is rolling the word home ground in his mouth,relishing the first taste. Kochiites are particular about tastes. Even when they loaded pepper and ginger,Ceylons cinnamon and Chinas cloves on the galleys of the Arabs,Portuguese,Dutch and the Brits,in their own cooking pots the spices were used frugally,albeit dexterously. And they naturalized every foreign food potatoes,tomatoes and chillies that came their way with a ceremonial coconut baptism. Now they are beginning to trade flavours,but just so. At his hotel Dream Cochin,Vikram Chatwal,whose other Dream properties are in New York,Bangkok and Miami,is drizzling truffle oil over mashed potatoes and encrusting soft-shelled Kochi crabs with polenta. The techies who have migrated from Bangalore and Mumbai and bemoaning the lack of nightlife are twirling Bolognaise pasta at Coco Tree,a café on the shopping street called MG Road,crowding Baristas and Café Coffee Days,and buying the bird by the bucket at a new Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. Yet,it is not your globalised city where the same brands determine the indistinguishability of your shopping landscape. The Levis and the Benettons are dwarfed by the towering local silk boutiques and gold souks. Kochis unostentatious appearance is deceptive. Much like the MG Road that looks deserted on a weekday afternoon,smelling only of summer and sea breeze. Walk into any of the behemoth jewellery showrooms and there will be a crowd trying on gleaming neckpieces and converting carats into rupees. Audi must have smelled the money when it opened its flagship showroom in India in Kochi early last year in the middle of the Great Slowdown. Venugopal,the 31-year-old director of the Elite Group of Companies and the only Malayali among the six owners of the Rendezvous Sports World Ltd,too has smelled it. The IPL will become a success in Kerala. Just consider the per capita income,the inflow of Gulf money,its consumerist nature and a genuine lack of entertainment here. There is headway for growth, he says. He concedes that the infrastructure has to develop. The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium,which will host IPL games until a new one comes up in Edakochi,is undergoing renovation. The ground,now just a heap of upturned soil,has to become a turf. The rooms in disrepair could transform into luxury corporate boxes. But these are still insubstantial plans,like Venugopals wondering what the name of the team should be this will be the states team,not a citys,so the name will have Kerala in it,he says and if there should be showgirls to cheer his team. Some,like the Marxist historian K.N. Panikkar,think the invasion of IPL is part of the evolving culture of India but will severely undermine the local flavour of Kochi. However,this city tanning on the beaches of the Arabian Sea with a Sharjah Shake (a local milk shake evoking,if not originating on,the Gulf shores) in its hands has always known how to greet strangers. The Jews have a street here although antiques shops seem to outnumber them. There is daily Mass in the Santa Cruz basilica built by the Portuguese in 1505; the Dutch though are confined to a 284-year-old cemetery. Luckily for Kochi,the charm of globalisation has run its course. This is the age of artisanal cheese and bespoke charms. This is the age of the uniquely local. Kochi,with its red CITU flags and red buses with god graffiti Krishna,Christ and Allah,depending on the owners faith is an astonishing cocktail that could pander to just this kind of taste. It would keep its fishing nets and the luxe yachts.
