Cranganor History Café & Riverside Château

ABOUT US

“Cranganor History Café & Riverside Château”is a labour of love. Rasmi, Vineeth & their daughters Tanvi & Tia moved to Kerala in 2017 to give shape to the place they had been dreaming about for years. Rasmi & Vineeth are MBAs from IIM Bangalore and XLRI Jamshedpur respectively and between them have almost three decades of experience working at large corporations in various metros in India. Rasmi’s connection with the region began in 2011 when her work in the area of conserving and revitalizing the traditional craft of handloom in Kerala brought her to the village across the river, Chendamangalam, one of the traditional centres of excellence of a craft that is now quickly perishing. For Vineeth, this is the region of his ancestral village and he has fond memories of numerous summer vacations spent here as a kid back in the 70s & 80s and etched in his mind are the picturesque rivers & backwaters, the serene beauty of temples, the games kids played, fishing & food. As a child, he remembers hearing adults talk about Vanchinaad, the old Chera capital that existed here two millennia ago and of the legend of the ancient port city of Muziris. ‘Cranganor’ History Café & Riverside Château is located in the region of this old port city, which historians and archaeologists are now uncovering to be ancient India’s gateway to civilizations with a history dating back more than 3 millennia. By the 1st Century BC, the Chinese, Arabs, Jews, Greeks and Romans were already trading spices here. More recently, the Portuguese, Dutch and the British arrived, initially to trade and soon were part of the internal power struggles between Travancore, Kochi, Calicut and the Mysore kingdoms. All of them have left their imprints on the region.

01

Why Are We Here?

By 2009, Rasmi & Vineeth had decided to quit their jobs and relocate to Kerala. Their hunt for the perfect place ended in 2012 when they found a beautiful strip of land on the edge of the river Periyar, which was just across the river from the weaving villages. The land was also historically significant, having once been home to Shangoonny Menon, Diwan Peshkar of the erstwhile Travancore State and eminent Historian, author of The History of Travancore (First published in 1878). It was here that he penned all his works. Cranganor overlooks the idyllic uninhabited island of Dharma Thuruth and is in the heart of the country’s largest Heritage Conservation Project called the Muziris Heritage Project. It is well connected by State Highway to Kochi International Airport (20 Km), National Highway to Kochi City (25 Km).

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02

What Is Our Property Like?

Located on the banks of the River Periyar, our Château has long river views and interior/ exterior spaces seamlessly blending into one another. The architectural style is inspired by the Indo - Dutch language of Kerala Architecture that is seen all over Kochi region - notably the Paliyam Palace where the Maharaja of Kochi stayed which is one the famous buildings in the vicinity. This allows a double storeyed structure with luxuriant colonnaded verandahs all around.

Located on 1.5 acres of land with 150 meters of riverfront, every room enjoys long views of Kerala’s largest and longest river, the perennial Periyar which is the state’s source for not just drinking water and hydroelectric power, but an inspiration for many a poet and writer. At the site of our Château, the Periyar is just a few km from the sea, mingling with backwater canals and lagoons with the untainted rural Kerala landscape on its banks.