ADHVAGATI

Instant reaction when told "this is Vasco da Gama's First Grave" ?  Incredulity , of course. How many times did poor Vasco die and get buried ? No , that's not it, got it all wrong !  He died only once , but got buried twice.  That aside..... to the Church now.  One of the first  buildings the  enterprising Portuguese erected in Kochi, right after the local Raja gave them his benign nod to put up a " fort" for their trading  purposes, was a logwood Church dedicated to  St . Bartholomew .  That was in 1503. With further privileges granted by the Raja, it was reconstructed in brick and mortar in 1516 and the grand new edifice was dedicated to Santo Antonio, patron saint of Portugal. (  Bye, Bartholomew? )  It underwent further name changes as it changed hands among other colonisers. In the meanwhile, Vasco da Gama touched shore the second time in 1524. And  died. He was laid to rest  in this church with a simple grave stone...

   Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica , Fort Kochi. Five centuries old Roman Catholic place of worship , one of the landmarks of Fort Kochi .A handsome white edifice with two soaring spires built  in a blend of Indo-European and Gothic  styles.  The interior is  richly decorated with frescos and mosaics, created by the 19 th Century Italian painter, Fra Antonio Moscheni and his Indian student, DeGama. But the building  itself is not 500 year old.  Commander Dom Alfonso Albuquerque of Portugal, arriving  with the second exploratory fleet,in 1500,  helped the king of Cochin to repel the predatory advances of the Zamorin of Calicut . And  received , as thanksgiving, the right to build a Fort in Cochin . The generous  King  must have thought the whitepeople would load their ships with pepper and sit around happily confined to their little fort ! Alas, alas ! History turned out so different !  In 1505, the King pe...