Felix Anand Skaria, who made his mark in conserving the heritage of Fort Kochi and retaining its green cover, died at Thiruvannamala in Tamil Nadu on Friday, aged 65 years.
He along with his brother Anoop Skaria and a couple of other youth sowed the seeds of the annual Cochin Carnival, which began as a beach festival during the mid-1980’s. They also played a key role in hewing out the Vasco Da Gama Square – an iconic open space tucked in between the celebrated Chinese fishing nets on the Fort Kochi beach front and the heritage streets.
Kashi Art Cafe – a popular cafe-cum-art gallery at Burgher Street in the heritage zone, and an initiative titled ‘Flaura and Fauna’ to promote planting of saplings and protection of trees, were the brainchildren of the Skaria siblings. Anand was married to Gayatri Gomas, who hailed from Belgium. Their sons are Adityan and Arun.
Anand was the general secretary of Maharaja’s College students’ union in 1980-81 and union chairman in 1982-83. Funeral details are awaited.
