FORT KOCHIN

Kochi was the first European Colony in India and was ruled by the Portuguese during the fourteenth century, then by the Dutch and finally by the English. Some areas feel distinctly and bizarrely European, yet you only ever have to walk for five minutes to find yourself on a narrow road, busling with activity, several stalls piled with all manner of unlikely things, which feels completely and utterly Indian.

Wandering along the sea front; a visceral world of still squirming sea creatures and fishermen bargaining in huddled groups around mounds of fish layed out on blankets. The atmosphere was frenzied, but for once we weren't the object of attention for those behind the stalls.

We visitted a palace built by Portugese settlers in the sixteenth century. The walls of several rooms are covered in intricate murals depicting scenes from the Hindu epic stories the 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabarata'. I copied this image from one of the walls, which was repeated four times; mothers giving birth to Rama, Bharata, Laksmana and Satraghna. The four sons are incarnations of the God Vishnu, brought into the world by the Gods to slay the Demon King Ravana.

Near to the Palace was a Jain temple. Jainism is one of the most ancient Indian religions and appears superficially at least to be quite closely related to Hinduism. These similarities may be more the result of the fact that the two religions evolved within the same culture; there are many differences in the daily ways of life that Jains adhere to. One of the central beliefs is that animals and plants, as well as human beings, contain living souls. Each of these souls is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion. Jains are strict vegetarians and in the temple complex we visited, a large bird house sat on a pole almost as high as the temple roof. At midday people gather for the feeding of the birds, in which grain is scaterred to incredible flurries of pigeons who descend on the courtyard in what feels literally like a storm. I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the few sparrows who tentatively tried to get in on the act- even in such a ceremonial event the strongest species win out!