In Fort Kochi, along the waterside lined by wharfs, low lime-washed buildings with red-tiled roofs and old godowns now converted into shops stands a structure, dilapidated. This was once the Customs House. For centuries, Cochin merely functioned as a roadstead. Steamers, liners, Chinese junks, Indian thonis , Arab dhows all laid anchor in the open sea almost three to four miles away from the harbour mouth. The narrow lanes were alive with labourers loading spices, tea and other merchandise on to boats. The Customs House was a centre of activity as boats loaded with tea, coffee, cashew, pepper, cardamom and other spices waited for Customs clearance to move to the ships anchored in the open sea.
This building came into disuse after the Customs House shifted to the new, manmade Willingdon Island, the nerve centre of the Cochin Port, in 1956. In fact, the history of the Customs House is intimately linked to the history and development of Cochin Port. Though there were proposals to develop the port since the early days, it was Sir Robert Bristow who made this into a reality. When he first came to Cochin in 1920, it was a port where the ships were berthed offshore with cargo loading and unloading being done using lighters. By the time he left in 1941 Cochin was a major port and Willingdon Island a bustling area. In his famous BBC address Sir Bristow said that he lived on a large island created from the bottom of the sea called Willingdon Island and “from the upper floor of my house, I look down on the finest harbour in the East.”
With the development of the port the Island saw a spurt of growth. Administrative buildings, hotels, shops, banks, godowns, housing colonies, school, playgrounds, places of worship, parks and a hospital came up here. By early 1950s the Customs Department and Cochin Port began negotiations on an exchange of land. The harbour workshops and the Customs House at Fort Cochin were proposed to be transferred to the Port in exchange for 3.1 acres in Willingdon Island. This exchange was done and work on a new building for the Customs House began.
The Port insisted that they have a say in the design of the building perhaps to gel with the buildings in the locality. On September 29, 1956, the Customs House was inaugurated by the then Union Minister for Revenue and Defence, Arun Chandra Guha. This edifice turns 60 years this year.
Located at the west end of the Island, in a corner, in front of the imposing Cochin Port administrative office and close to Vivanta by Taj (Malabar Hotel), the two-storied building has an impressive façade and a unique shape. It is semi-circular or almost like a horse shoe, with two towers in front and a small courtyard behind.
“Offices of the Commissioner of Customs function on both the floors. The two conical towers that had a clear view of the sea face once served as communication centres. You can no longer see the backwaters from these towers today due to the proliferation of buildings that have come up. The towers now function as offices,” explains N.S. Dev, Superintendent of Customs.
The Customs House is equipped with a full-fledged laboratory which undertakes analysis of various goods, chemical analysis of the goods manufactured in various factories in the State for the purpose of classification and assessment under the Central Excise Tariff Act. It houses the Special Investigation Branch and a round-the-clock Control Room. A canteen, library, meeting rooms, and of late an organic vegetable garden also function here. Except for an extension to the main building no major renovations have taken place in the building.
“Maintaining the building, keeping its character intact is not easy. We have tried to keep as much as it was except for installing air-conditioners, some change in the furniture etc. Otherwise it as it was 60 years ago, the mosaic floors, the doors, the ceiling and all that. And we want it to remain, the façade especially, that way. So many illustrious officers have served in this office and many great souls, like Mother Teresa (1988) and Bishop Desmond Tutu (2013) have blessed it by their presence,” says K.N. Raghavan, Commissioner of Customs.
Of course, Willingdon Island has changed. It is no longer the busy port town. No wonder you hear a tour manager telling his group of foreign tourists who had just embarked from the cruise liner that there is nothing much to see on the island.
“There was a time when the Island was fascinating. It had all three terminals - seaport, airport and a railway station. You know how it is today. The port had facilities to berth eight ships at one go and there used to be a couple of others in waiting for a berth. Work at Customs House was centred on the port and some of the posts like low wharf posting no longer exist. The communication towers were manned by ex-servicemen. If I remember right Swami Chinmayanada visited Customs House. The quarters were all occupied unlike today though a lot of people commuted from Ernakulam and nearby places. There was a certain buzz here. The lifestyle on the Island certainly grew in you, it was enchanting,” remembers C. Madhavan, Retd. Deputy Commissioner.
The Customs Department hopes to expand some of its social activities in connection with the Diamond Jubilee of its office. “We have initiated a programme called Custom Cadet Core (CCC). This was launched in 2015 at Govt. High School Maradu and we are planning to extend this to Govt school at North Parur also this year. We select around 20 students, provide them with uniforms, parade training, impart life skills and career guidance besides visit to customs offices at port and airport and exposure to sea patrol. This is modelled broadly on National Cadet Corps and Police Cadet Corps and is intended as a out reach programme to help the department reach out to general public. The old building at Fort Kochi now functions as the office of our boat staff. The land belongs to the Port and the building is ours. We have got into an understanding with the Port to handover the building to them in exchange for a space in a building near the Samudrika Terminal where we can have a proper boat pen and office for the boat staff,” says K.N. Raghavan.
