*Advocate, High Court of Kerala, Ernakulam, Cochin.
* Visiting Faculty Member for Maritime law, Marine Insurance, P and I Practice, (National University of Advanced Legal Studies,(NUALS) Cochin)
* Visiting Faculty Member for Maritime Law, Kerala University of Fisheries and Oceanic Studies (KUFOS), Ernakulam.
* Visting Faculty for Law of the Sea (School of Legal Studies, Cochin University), Cochin
* Formerly Guest Faculty for Maritime Law, National Law School of India University,(NLSIU),Bangalore, for Indian Maritime University, (IMU), Chennai.
*Formerly Visiting Faculty member for Arbitration Law (School of Legal Studies, Cochin University)
Some historians believe ‘Kochi’ was named so by the Chinese. Traders from the court of the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, gave Kochi the name of their homeland. The peculiar Chinese fishing nets found here, the only place outside China where it has been spotted. Still another theory is that Kochi is derived from the word 'Kaci' meaning 'harbour'. Kochi earned a significant position on the world trading routes after the world famous port at Muzuris (Cranganore) was destroyed by massive flooding of the river Periyar in 1340 AD. Records show that Muzuris (Cranganore) was known to the Arabs and Chinese traders for centuries. After the Muzuris port was destroyed, the forces of nature created a natural harbour at the nearby city - Kochi. The Arabs, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and the British helped Kochi emerge as a bustling centre of commercial activity, connecting the mainland to the rest of the world.
'Cotchin' as the Early European Travellers saw it.
Proposed Container Transhipment Terminal at Cochin
Head Quarters of Cochin Port Authority-Cochin Port Trust
VESSEL ENTERING COCHIN PORT
Volvo Ocean Race 2008 touched Kochi
Kochi was the only port in the Indian Subcontinent to be touched by the Volvo Ocean Race
Raibow Bridge- Cochin-A Night View
Bridge in cochin- Design inspired by Chinese Fishing Nets
Queen Mary docks at Kochi
Cochin Has an International Air Port
A flight takes off from Cochin Air Port
Chinese fishing nets
Kochi is the HQ of Southern Naval Command of Indian Navy.
High Court of Kerala, Kochi - Admiralty Court
Kerala High Court has Admiralty Jurisdiction to Arrest Vessels.
Cochin Port
Cochin Port Lay out
Cochin Port Lay out
Cochin Shipyard
Kochi Backwaters - Another view
Snake Boat of Kerala at Cochin
Constructed according to specifications taken from the Sthapathya Veda, an ancient treatise for the building of wooden boats. These boats are about 100 to 138 ft in length, with the rear portion towering to a height of about 20 ft. and a long tapering front portion. It resembles a snake with its hood raised. Its hull is built of planks precisely 83 feet in length and six inches wide. Indira Gandhi Boat Race is a boat race festival celebrated in the last week of December in the backwaters of Kochi, a town in Kerala, south India. This boat race is one of the most popular vallam Kali (snake boat race) in Kerala.
Snake boats of Kerala
Snake boats lined up for a Race in Cochin
Entry to Cochin Harbour
Our Jewish Heritage
Interior of Jewish Synagogue at Fort Cochin-Jews came to Kerala and settled as early as 586 BC for trade. Legend has it that Jews of Cochin came in mass to Cranganore (an ancient port, near Cochin) after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. A chieftain by the name of Joseph Rabban, according to local tradition, was granted a principality over the Jews of Cochin by the Chera Emperor of Kerala, Bhaskara Ravivarman II. Some sources say that the earliest Jews were those who settled in the Malabar coast during the times of King Solomon of Israel.During the second exile (586 BC) some of the Jews came and settled in Kerala. They were known as Bene Israel. Most of them have returned to Israel by twentieth century.
Our Islamic Heritage
Cheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in Kodungallur near Cochin. Believed to be built in 629 AD by Malik Ibn Dinar, it is considered as the oldest mosque in India, and the second oldest mosque in the world to offer Jumu'ah prayers. Constructed during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad, the bodies of some of his original followers are said to be buried here.
Our Christian Heritage
The Santa Cruz Basilica, a church in Kochi, Kerala built originally by the Portuguese in 1505 and elevated to a Cathedral by Pope Paul IV in 1558, was spared by the Dutch conquerors who destroyed many Catholic buildings. Later the British demolished the structure and Bishop Dom Gomez Vereira commissioned a new building in 1887. Consecrated in 1905, Santa Cruz was proclaimed a Basilica by the Pope John Paul II in 1984. This magnificent church is a must see destination for tourists who come to Kochi. While Augustus Caesar (31 BC- 14 AD) was the Emperor of Rome and Herod the Great (37-4 BC) was King of Judea, ambassadors from Malabar visited the Emperor Augustus. These ambassadors were called The Wise Men From the East in the Bible.[7] Even today, the descendants of these Wise Men gather every year at a place in Kerala. It was to this country Kerala, Thomas the Apostle, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ arrived in the first century, (believed to be in 52 AD). He landed at Muziris (now known as Pattanam, near Cochin on the Malabar Coast). During his stay some among the Jews and the Wise Men became followers of Jesus of Nazareth. They were called Nazranis, meaning “followers of Jesus of Nazareth.” By twenty-first century they called themselves as Christians.
Land of Temples.
A Hindu Temple near Cochin.-Hinduism is often stated to be the "oldest religious tradition" or "oldest living major tradition." Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism. It is formed of diverse traditions and types and has no single founder. Hinduism is the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India. Kerala is home to Hindu saints and swamis of all castes.