UNEXPLAINED SILENCE: Does Anyone Care About the Kochi UFO?

Image Courtesy: intoday.in

On 30 October 2014, during a rainy day, just after sunset, the people of Kochi were said to witness an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) in the sky. News media reports say that it was raining, and the sky was cloudy. A few lights were spotted in the sky. Apparently, after a few moments, the UFO vanished “under the cover of rain and passing clouds”, as per the report in a major online daily. Most of the mainstream media have carefully used the term “UFO-like lights” to describe the appearance of lights in the sky.   

Image Courtesy: www.discoveryuk.com/ Chuck Zachowski

The popular translation for UFOs in Malayalam language, the first language of Kerala state, is “Parakkum Thalika” or Flying Saucer. Kochi is a metropolitan city that plays a very crucial role in the economic and cultural life of Kerala. Kerala sits close to the equator and is one of the southern states in India. Could this UFO be a visitation from extraterrestrials through the equator region?

A few weeks back, I came across a video documentary in You Tube titled The Unexplained Files. This program was originally telecasted in Discovery Science channel. A retired Deputy Sherriff named Chuck Zachowski finds a strange connection between the presence of strange mysterious lights and the line of Latitude known by the name 37^th parallel. This might sound a fascinating sci-fi story. Only it isn’t. Often people who come forward with credible evidences are people with authentic credentials. The investigation itself is done by a retired law-enforcement officer and, of course, is done with methods that are accepted and used commonly by all civil and military organizations across the world.

Image Courtesy: Google

This suggests that if the 37^th parallel theory is even close to the idea it proposes, there could be a real possibility with the UFO event that occurred in Kerala. Whether it’s a possibility or crisis, only time will tell. Until then, this event will remain yet another instance of unexplained phenomena.

India Today and Deccan Chronicle are the two major English language Indian newspapers that reported this event, and it is not quite surprising why other local media kept silence on this issue. Kerala has a strong literacy rate (93.91). Rationalism here has built its boundaries quite near to reductionism. UFO events and discussion on the subject are certainly frowned upon. Talking about life on other planets is a fantasy, and matter of “crazy” Hollywood movies. “It’s not real,” you might probably hear your parents yell at you.

Image Courtesy: BBC

What raised the quotient of reality considerably upward in the Kochi UFO incident is another event that was triggered next. Within one month of the UFO incident, bird flu, due to H5N1 virus, announces its appearance in Kerala. Three districts are apparently affected: Kottayam, Alapuzha, and Pathanamthitta. Out of these three, Alapuzha and Kottayam are situated well within fifty kilometers from Kochi.

Kochi is known for its maritime activities even from ancient times. It’s been a busy port town and according to historians, the ancient Greece and the Egyptians had their contacts with Kochi. Ancient name of Kochi was Balapuri. In present day Kerala, Kochi is an important metropolitan city and resides in the district of Ernakulum. Could there be a connection with the historical importance of Kochi and the UFO? Bird flu virus has been reported from two nearby districts, as I mentioned earlier. Is it merely a coincidence?

To be continued...