Broadway Ernakulam is a shopping street situated at

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is one of the oldest shopping areas in the city. Compared to the other shopping spots in the city, the prices here are lower and really affordable.

History

Broadway was the only shopping street in

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

during early 20th century. Initially the shopping street was located at

Mattancherry Mattancherry (; Cochin Portuguese Creole: ''Cochim de Cima'' ), is a historic ward of Kochi, Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, follow ...

. When the British took over Cochin from the Dutch, the market moved out of Mattancherry to

, which had everything from a safety pin to clothes and hardware on offer. Broadway had set of coveted tailors right from the start of 20th century. Prominent among those were J. Newfield and Company, which made the best three-piece suits at the time, Koya Hassan and the Bharatha Tailoring Company, which was famous for the uniforms it made for the State chauffeurs. The White Hall Silk Palace, set up in the 1920s by a Muslim trader from Palakkad, was a textile hotspot. Valavi and Company is a shop which started in 1899 on broadway street. They did business in paper, tyres and liquor imported from Europe.

About the Name

The road leading to broadway was one of the first

macadam Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam , in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the original mat ...

roads in Ernakulam and this is being quoted as the reason why it got its name 'Broadway'.

Shopping Street

Broadway Shopping street covers an area of two kilometer radius road which is sandwiched between

Marine Drive, Kochi Marine Drive, officially the APJ Abdul Kalam Marg, is a promenade in Kochi, India. It is built facing the Kerala Backwaters, backwaters. Despite its name, no vehicles are allowed on the walkway. With several shopping malls it is as an important ...

and MG Road. The area is characterized by narrow roads, quite ironically given its name. The market canal passes through Broadway and Market Road. The shopping street is a car-free pedestrian zone. Broadway adjoins Ernakulam Market where there are many wholesale shops as well.

Shops

At Broadway, one can find almost everything - ranging from old copper pots (ready to smelt) to latest fashion in clothing and jewellery,

books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

perfumes Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

. One can even find one of the best furniture shops in town run by a

Cochin Jew Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim from ) are one of the oldest groups of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, ...

. Broadway has many roadside shops selling electronic goods, leather items, stationery, watches, jewelry and umbrellas. The Spice market of Kochi at Broadway street is a wholesale market where one can buy good quality spices and condiments.

Footfalls

There are around 1,000 shops functioning in the two-km radius of Broadway. It is estimated that the market sees a footfall of minimum 5,000 people on holidays but the numbers would touch 20,000 on working days. In 2016, sales at the Broadway market averaged 5 crore per month as per Broadway Shop Owners Association.

Peak Shopping Seasons

The peak shopping season at Broadway Kochi is during festivals of

Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു) is a Hindu festival celebrating the Malayali New Year in Kerala, Tulu Nadu, and Mahe of India. Vishu falls on the first day of the month of ''Medam'', the first month of the Solar calendar used in Malabar of ...

Onam Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Broadway Renovation Project

In 2009, Centre for Heritage Environment and Development and the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project, had submitted a Rs. 30-crore-project for the conservation efforts of the Broadway. Though the project was submitted in the first phase of JNNURM, it failed to take off due to cost escalation and flaws in the DPR. In 2013, a revised detailed project report (DPR) was submitted for funding under the JNNURM transition funding period. The estimated cost for the project was Rs. 25 cr

References

{{Reflist Economy of Kochi Tourist attractions in Kochi Shopping districts and streets in India Mattancherry