Written by Surbhi Gupta |Updated: July 23, 2019 8:21:17 am
Australian historian Joanne Taylor documents the churches of India in her latest book
Australian historian Joanne Taylor also brings to notice how church photography in India is limited to documenting the huge facades and massive exteriors.
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While talking about the oldest European church in Fort Kochi, The Church of St Francis, which at one time housed the tomb of Vasco da Gama, Australian historian Joanne Taylor draws attention towards its beautiful collection of punkhas. An ancient Indian method of cooling interiors, here cloth is attached to wooden rods that hang from the ceiling, and strings lead through the wall to the outside of the building, where the punkhawalla would move the fan backwards and forwards to keep the congregation cool. This is just one of the many vignettes associated with churches in India that feature in Taylor’s book Churches of India (Rs 1,495, Niyogi Books). “Academics in architecture ignores many wonderful things. That’s why I worked on my previous book — The Forgotten Palaces of Calcutta (Niyogi Books, 2006). The houses and mansions of Indian merchants in north Kolkata were overlooked by almost everyone, as they had hybrid architecture. It is probable that the churches were ignored too, as I found very little during my research,” says Sydney-based Taylor, who travelled around the country and documented churches across the states of Kerala and Goa, metropolitan cities such as Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, and the former French colonies of Puducherry and Chandannagar. “The churches dotted across the subcontinent are visual proof of India’s acceptance and tolerance for others, their religions and their lifestyles,” adds she.
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