‘Khalasis’ come to Kochi Biennale

A team of ‘Khalasi’ riggers from Kozhikode install artist Gigi Scaria’s work‘Chronicle of the Shores Foretold’ at Pepper House in the city on Thursday. Photo: Vipin Chandran

The small dock at Pepper House was for many years a gateway through which pepper and other goods arrived in Kochi and left for foreign lands. Hoisted above the dock on Thursday morning was a gleaming 2.5 tonne stainless steel bell, part of an installation by Malayali artist Gigi Scaria for the second edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

“The bell signifies many things. It hints at the passage of time. In Kochi, there is the story of a bell that was brought by foreigners and sunk at sea on its way here. They bought many other things to Kochi’s shores, some of that have remained and some faded away. The bell is a part of our experience of religion too,” said the artist, as a team of workers installed the massive bell over the waters.

‘Khalasis’ of Malabar

The team itself was a nod to the history of Kerala’s expertise in boat-making. The men installing the massive steel bell were drawn from the famous ‘Khalasis’ of the Malabar. “Khalasi is a local term for people who do rigging work. Traditionally they would work in the construction of uru dhows built in Beypore,” said Hameed A.N.A. The 77-year-old rigging expert, whom Mr. Scaria fondly calls Hameed Haji, has been working in the field of industrial erection and on-site fabrication for 42 years and has worked with FACT and Cochin Port, among others. Hameed Haji instructed a team of seven ‘Khalasis’ who installed the bell, which has a diameter of 16 feet at its widest.

“The work could easily be done with a crane. But I wanted the ‘khalasis’ to do the work. Their presence lends to the history of what I’m trying to convey through my work ‘Chronicle of the Shores Foretold,’ said Mr. Scaria.

For Hameed Haji’s team, hoisting a 2.5-tonne bell on a metal scaffold of sorts is a walk in the park.

“This work will take just about half an hour. We usually work on things weighing 100 to 200 tonne,” said Hameed Haji.

While his team works in different parts of the country on massive industrial projects as well as smaller traditional works, many ‘khalasis’ in Beypore and other parts of the Malabar still continue to work on traditional boat-making yards.