Fort Kochi, the quaint port town with its colonial era bungalows and benevolent banyan trees in Kochi, is set for its grandest celebration of the year, the Cochin Carnival. Drawing revellers from all parts of the State and outside, the carnival, which began on December 11, has a train of events running up to the burning of the Pappanji on December 31 midnight.
The Pappanji is the effigy of an old man (which can go up to 60 feet in height) , which is set ablaze on New Year’s Eve to signify the passing of a year and the beginning of a new one. The tradition is believed to be a remnant of the Portuguese way of welcoming a new year. (The Portuguese ruled Cochin from 1503 to 1663).
