Koder House, the three-storey red-brick mansion on Tower Road in Fort Kochi, was remodelled by Samuel S Koder, who registered the Cochin Electric Company

Background

Koder House is a three-storey red-brick mansion on Tower Road in Fort Kochi, a privately owned heritage property; the fire that tore through its upper floors has renewed attention on how privately owned heritage structures in Fort Kochi can be protected. Ephraim Isaac Koder, who came to Cochin from Baghdad in the 19th century, became part of the city's prominent Paradesi Jewish community, and his descendant Samuel S Koder, popularly known as Satu Koder, extensively remodelled the house in the early 20th century, giving it an Indo-European character with elaborate woodwork and Belgian glass. Samuel Koder registered the Cochin Electric Company in 1926; the company later obtained permission to generate thermal power and supplied electricity to parts of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, with power-generation facilities and utility offices in Mattancherry and Thoppumpady. By 1970 it had more than 130 employees, before the state power board KSEB took over its operations. Samuel Koder served for several years as president of the Paradesi Synagogue, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Kochi in 1968 for the 400th anniversary celebrations of the Paradesi Synagogue. The Portuguese established their settlement in Kochi in the early 16th century, the Dutch took control of the territory in 1663, and the British in 1795.