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Cochin and Malarax
Amateur film capturing life and buildings in and around Kochi, in Kerala, south-west India.
Overview
This well-travelled amateur film takes us in and around Kochi (also known as Cochin) in Kerala, in India's south west. The film begins its tour at the royal residence (originally built by Dutch traders in the mid-18th century) on Bolgatty (then Bolghotty) Island. Also on the tour are a visit to the villagers of Vypin (or Vypeen) island - and their elaborately-engineered sardine nets - a waterfront view of Muttanchery (or Muttancheri) and a look at Kochi's Jewish Quarter. Shots of the local (very) longboats on the water are another hightlight.
The 'Malarax' of the title is mysterious - perhaps it was intended to mean the Malabar Coast, and was misread from handwritten notes when the film was acquired by the BFI National Archive. This was one of a number of films shot by Sir Hopetoun Stokes (1873-1951) and his wife, Lady Alice Stokes. Sir Hopetoun served as an official in the Indian Civil Service from the mid-1890s and rose to high office: by 1930 he was the Chief Secretary to the Madras Presidency.
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