High tea with hints of the empire at Kochi's Brunton Boatyard
Fort Kochi has always been a mix of cultures. The Dutch, British, Portuguese, and Jews. Their influence extends to everything, most notably architecture and food. And nowhere is this amalgamation more profound than at Brunton Boatyard, a CGH Earth heritage hotel perched on Calvathy Road.
Indeed, at their History restaurant, one is serenaded by way of a scrumptious fine dining experience that very thing: the history of Fort Kochi, through 32 cuisines from all the communities that make up the place.
However, at their Armoury Restobar, this emphasis on the local quietens down to bring to the fore the old-world English charm. And what better way to do it than with the traditional high Tea? This is precisely what the hotel leans into.
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Economic Times
6 hours ago
- Economic Times
A raggedy ferry ride into forgotten, dark history
Agencies Representational I recently spent an entire week in the country where I live. Didn't go anywhere, didn't even fly. Flying less than once a week always struck me as somewhat improbable. Now that I am back on the road again, I realise that there is no avoiding home though. Islands separated by oceans and moments in time spanning centuries, they are all connected. Attending a conference in Dakar, Senegal's boisterous and decidedly sweaty capital, my friend Paul and I found ourselves contemplating what to do on our day off. Originally from the Dutch province of Zeeland - after which New Zealand was named - this is also where the 'discoverer' of Easter Island, Jacob Roggeveen once came from. Roggeveen's landing at Easter Island in 1722 is now some three centuries ago. A hundred years prior to this, Dutch West India Company (WIC) was established in 1621 with the specific task to involve itself in the nauseating, but decidedly lucrative, trade in enslaved Africans. One of the slave trading posts the Dutch operated to facilitate this was located on the Island of Goree off the coast of Senegal. It seemed fitting to visit it. A couple of times a day, a crowded ferry plies the route from the messy port of Dakar to Goree. A half-an-hour journey, the island reveals itself meticulously built up with a round fort that once offered it protection from other seafaring parties. Seated on wooden benches, the smell of fermented fish mingles with thick fumes of diesel. From somewhere, the intoxicating rhythm of Senegal's iconic mbalax (pronounced: uhm-bal-aks) music can be heard, its lyrics in Wolof that compete with the sonorous rumbling of the boat engine. Paul is contemplating the name 'Goree' (pronounced: go-rey), rolling it around in his mouth as if exploring it with his tongue and trying out different possibilities. In its current spelling it suggests a French origin. But it actually takes its name after the Dutch delta island of Goeree-Overflakkee (Ghhu-rey-Over-flakkey). A contraction of 'goede reede', or 'good roadstead; in Dutch, it's unclear how the Dutch came to take over Goree from the Portuguese who had established themselves here as early as 1444. Seeking access to the region's richness in gold soon got them entangled in the slave trade as well. Vasco da Gama visited the island on 1502, only a few years after having established a route to India. In doing, so he had followed his fellow countryman Bartolomeu Dias, who had been the first European to successfully go round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Other islands that became part of the Portuguese network such as Sao Tome and the Cape Verde during this period soon became home to sugarcane plantations demanding an ever-increasing number of slave labourers. From the 1530s, Brazil would follow, the final destination of an estimated 5 mn enslaved Africans. Goree is particularly known for its House of Slaves and its Door of No Return, once visited by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, and Michael Jackson. Constructed around 1776, the 'building hails from Senegal's 'French' period. But historians differ in opinion on what role it actually played in the slave trade. Those who were transported from the island probably never walked through the door itself, but did so from the beach near the fort. While Goree has come to be equated with atrocities of the slave trade, it was Easter Island that was probably more directly impacted by it. Around the time when slavery had already been abolished by most European colonial powers, Peruvian slave raids were busy capturing Polynesians for guano mining. Over half of the population was abducted. The few who made it back carried smallpox with them, decimating the remaining population even further. Half-an-hour on a raggedy ferry can't do justice to this history. But it's remarkable how easily it let its door pried open for a glimpse in. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. How Vedanta's Anil Agarwal bettered Warren Buffett in returns Why Infy's Parekh takes home more than TCS' CEO despite being smaller Worrying cracks hiding behind MG Motor's own 'house of Windsor' Rivers are moving more goods than before. But why aren't they making a splash yet? Central bankers print currency for all, but why do they chase gold? Stock Radar: This BSE Sensex stock from IT space is now looking attractive after breaking out from ascending triangle pattern; time to buy? These large- and mid-cap stocks can give more than 25% return in 1 year, according to analysts Buy, Sell or Hold: Antique recommends buy on Shilpa Medicare; YES SECURITIES initiates coverage on Chalet Hotels
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Spotting Purvanchal of 1800s in the Caribbean
It is 2022. I am in the queue at the immigration section in Mumbai airport, holding my passport with a crisp boarding-pass neatly tucked in it. Even though I have made many such trips, the act of playing it cool stays like a muscle memory. I have a fellow traveller who got his passport made especially for this trip. So, he is a bit nervous. Two counters are vacant, and we occupy these. The immigration officer looks like a strict 1990s dad about to check your report card. I throw in a bit of English to assure the officer I haven't sold my ancestral land to fund this trip and never return. The drama is at the other counter. Cricketer Nicholas Pooran, on being asked if he wishes to some day return to his ancestral land to search for his roots, didn't seem very interested. (AFP) 'So, where are you traveling?' the officer asks my friend, even though the boarding pass mentions the destination. 'Sir, West Indies' 'What? There is no country like that' My friend panics. I pitch in, 'Sir, Trinidad & Tobago, that's where we are going'. I say this with a broad smile. The immigration officer isn't amused. I sound like a trafficker. 'Sir, we are going to cover the India vs West Indies series. Check the letter of invitation from the West Indian cricket board,' I build our case further. The familiar palm-tree-on-an-island logo of West Indies on the letterhead finally assuages him. After sufficient inquiry, he stamps the passport. The mechanical sound of the stamp is the sound of success. The year is 1845. The imperial world has just abolished slavery, so there is a huge shortage of workers at the sugarcane plantations. All the tropical islands in the Commonwealth need more hands, including Trinidad & Tobago. So, the colonisers dangle a work agreement to people in British India, especially the Purvanchal region. 'Agreement' gets colloquialised into girmit and the people who sign it are now girmitiyas – mostly outcasts, widowers, landless, and, in general, with not much to lose. After a basic health check, they are bundled into a ship at the Calcutta port. After a 90-day journey via the Cape of Good Hope, they land at Port of Spain, Trinidad's capital. A British clerk asks their names. A guy named Shravan answers in a Maghai accent, 'Sarwan'. The clerk promptly records the phonetic spelling in English. Shravan's descendants bear the mis-spelled last name for generations, one of them being the cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan. That's how a Shiv Narayan becomes Sivnarine, a Devi Prasad is a Davy Persaud, and so on. There are no last names. They left caste behind in India. The labourers tried to create a caste system in Trinidad, but due to the sheer shortage of women and a lot of inter-marriage, it died out pretty soon. Their religion, music and cuisine did not. And that's how I could have chhole bhature outside the Brian Charles Lara Cricket stadium in Port of Spain. They call it 'double' because, back in the day, they served two bhaturas with chana sandwiched in the middle. I was in Port of Spain with influencers and journalists from India to cover the India versus West Indies cricket series, staying at the same hotel as the players. Such proximity is always fun. At one point, I helped Arshdeep Singh pick the right ingredients for his omelette at the breakfast buffet. And even searched for the right dal tadka with Hardik Pandya. But these are trivial pursuits one can even chance upon in a hotel in Mumbai; hence, being a purvanchali, I was fascinated more by the history of this unique place. For me, it felt like finding the Uttar Pradesh/Bihar of the 1800s preserved in the West Indies. Thankfully, the locals emigrated before the invention of gutka, hence the roads and walls are spotlessly clean. Imagine the Bihar of the 19th century, sans the caste system, paan masala, poor civic sense, but all the amazing food, the music, the sweet dialect, and devotion to their gods. Everyone's great-grandfather was an indentured labourer, everyone started from scratch, with no systemic inequalities, no caste privilege. One can only dream of such utopia. I asked the cricketer Nicholas Pooran if he wishes to some day return to his ancestral land, to search for his roots. He didn't seem very interested. I don't blame him. Notably, the African-Americans celebrate the Day of Emancipation, the day when they were freed from slavery, but the Indo-Carribeans celebrate the Day of Arrival, the day they landed in the country. I asked a bunch of people in a queue at the stadium entrance, who looked of Indian-origin, with a bit of sarcasm, 'So, which team do you support?' They looked at me with some distaste and revealed the maroon jersey. This is the place their grandparents were born, who spoke Creole, not Bhojpuri. For them, I was the village cousin. They were curious to know more about me, but that's about it. They aren't coming back to investigate their roots. That ship, as they say, has sailed. Abhishek Asthana is a tech and media entrepreneur and tweets as @gabbbarsingh. The views expressed are personal.
New Indian Express
14 hours ago
- New Indian Express
High tea with hints of the empire at Kochi's Brunton Boatyard
Fort Kochi has always been a mix of cultures. The Dutch, British, Portuguese, and Jews. Their influence extends to everything, most notably architecture and food. And nowhere is this amalgamation more profound than at Brunton Boatyard, a CGH Earth heritage hotel perched on Calvathy Road. Indeed, at their History restaurant, one is serenaded by way of a scrumptious fine dining experience that very thing: the history of Fort Kochi, through 32 cuisines from all the communities that make up the place. However, at their Armoury Restobar, this emphasis on the local quietens down to bring to the fore the old-world English charm. And what better way to do it than with the traditional high Tea? This is precisely what the hotel leans into.
