We woke up early enough to walk around the colony and the three of us made our way to the back of the colony where the river Karamana quietly flows by. We climbed some steps and got on to a ledge and we found the steps going right down to the water like we see in Malayalam films - of young kids jumping into the waters. Mony said something like how they all his friends learned to swim in this river. It was beautiful.
Kanmoni-–fondly named by Mony’s mother after Mony's older brother and him - Kannan and Mony – in Malayalam, it literally means “Apple of the Eye” – so apt |
| The river Karamana at the bottom of the colony |
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| A nice place to just sit and watch the river flow by - but who has the time? But to just stand there and take in the environs - priceless! |
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| Us and the river |
We moved to the temple and community hall next to the steps, maybe even stopped at Veeramani's house on the way. Mony said he would ask him to help me with the Padmanabhaswamy temple darshan and I hoped something would happen - they have rules like wearing a veshti and stuff which I was concerned about, having never worn one. Anyway, Easwar said he would join me as well and Mony said he would not since it was less than a year since his Dad passed away. We left it to Veeramani to see if it would work out.
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| Kanakakkunnu palace |
The temple in their colony was very cute. By now I realised most people in the colony knew each other and I also realised that most people also were rather friendly here - nodding and saying hello to a stranger like me instead of ignoring me or staring at me with hostility like in most other places. Mony made slow progress because every other person would stop him and enquire about something or the other. The temple had a series of programs for the upcoming Painkuni festival of which I would learn a bit more later.
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| Another view of Kanakakkunnu palace |
My day's program was set - head out and try to visit the
heritage spots which were listed on the heritage walk site. Unfortunately when
I tried to register for a walk it would not allow me to. The good news was that
they had given their route and spots to see so I decided to follow that. Mony
had enough stuff to do and Easwar
had his own work to do so I told them I would do my own thing and walk around. Mony
got some breakfast from a takeaway and I gobbled down some idly and vada and
went out. Surendran dropped me at my first stop - the Kanakakkunnu palace from
where Mony said he normally heads out for a jog on some days.
I walked up the steps to the palace. It was on a small hillock right in the middle of the city, very typical of the Kerala architecture, something like a Maniratnam movie. I walked around and took some pics. There were gardens and lawns and trees and peace, and there were people sitting at leisure, including some couples, which was nice. The Kanakakkunnu Palace was built by the Maharaja of Travancore Moolam Thirunal during 1884-1924, and was used variously as the official residence of the Dewan Sir CP Ramaswami Iyer, by the royal family to entertain guests and by Maharaja Chithira Thirunal as a summer palace. Now it is a popular spot for cultural meets and programs - the All India Nishigandha Dance Festival and the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters are two major annual events held here. I spent some time there and then headed out by foot.
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The Main Entrance
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On the road I found a park across the road called the Captain Lakshmi Park which looked interesting - must check out its history. I crossed over to see a statue of ex-CM Karunakaran. On the opposite side of the road was another statue of Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928), philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer who led a movement against social equality and injustice against the lower classes. 'One caste, one religion and one god for all human beings' being his famous quote which to me makes immense sense. He was also instrumental in the events leading up to the famous Vaikom Satyagraha which led to allowing entry of lower classes to the Vaikom Temple (which perhaps paved the way for the Temple Entry Proclamation in 1936).
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| Statue of Sree Narayana Guru |
I crossed over to the Department of Museum and Zoos which had a bunch of museums and the zoo and art galleries in one large area with well landscaped gardens which I thought was very thoughtful - one need not travel to different parts of the city to see things. There was the Napier museum, the Natural History museum, Sri Chitra Enclave, 3D theatre, the Aquarium, the zoo, KCS Panicker Gallery, the Chitralayam where Raja Ravi Varma's works are displayed - all in one large, green, well landscaped complex. The entire lot was shut because it was Ramzan so I just walked around taking pictures of the buildings and getting a lay of the land.
I then walked out after about 45 minutes of exploring and went out on the side of the Thiruvanathapuram Municipal Corporation building which was an interesting dome shaped building. Next to it was the Keralam Museum which was also shut. I took a pic of the cannon and the horse carriage which were displayed outside and walked on.
Rama Rao Lamp
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| CSI Mateer Memorial Church |
Down the road was a beautiful church, the CSI Mateer Memorial Church which I wanted to closer look at, but then on the traffic island where I had to hop across from, I encountered the famous Rama Rao lamp listed on the heritage route. Now, coming from Telangana the name Rama Rao is a familiar common name and we even had a popular actor-chief minister by the name NT Rama Rao, so it intrigued me. In the list of Dewans of Travancore I found many Telugu sounding names - Krishna Rao, Ranga Rao etc. Wonder what it was about. Anyway Rama Rao lamp aka Ramarayar Vilakku, was established during the reign of Sreemoolam Thirunal in memory of T. Rama Rao aka Ramarayar who was the Dewan. Ramarayar was an able administrator and was instrumental in establishing the Legislative Council in 1988. Also credit for laying the foundation for Kottayam town goes to him. The lamp is an impressive bronze structure.
I crossed the road, took pics of the cute CSI Mateer Memorial Church which was a Protestant Church built in 1906 and named after Reverend Samuel Mateer who passed away in 1893 after serving the Church well for three decades. I walked back along the Palayam road towards the next point on the heritage walk. To my right was the Kerala University grounds. The Kerala University (est 1937) by Maharaja Balarama Varama is one of the first 16 Universities in India, initially called University of Travancore and later changed to Kerala University. It has been modelled after the universities in the UK.
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| Statue of Mahakavi Ullur S Parameswara Aiyer |
I crossed the road at the place where the State Central Library was. The street is famous for book stores of all types - first and second hand books etc. - Mony told me later. Unfortunately we never got to go and browse around there. The impressive State Central Library was originally started in 1829 and initially was only accessible to the privileged classes - only in 1898 was it open to public. The new building in the picture was constructed in 1900 - it has the statue of Mahakavi Ullur S. Parameswara Aiyer in front of it.
I walked past the State Library and found the first place that was open and welcoming on a public holiday - the Kerala University Fine Arts College which had an art exhibition by its Principal Naryanakutty, a University of Hyderabad alumnus, called the Artivist. The College of Fine Arts was established as early as 1881 by Maharaja Moolam Thirunam Sri Rama Varma and was initially known as The Maharaja's School of Arts so it has a lot of history. It also indicates the royal patronage for arts I guess.
To my right was the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium aka CSN Police Stadium (named after the IG of Police in 1956) where the Indian Soccer league matches happen. In the middle of the road is another memorial to the freedom fighters from Kerala.
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| St Joseph's Cathedral |
One cannot miss the beautiful St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral (built in 1873) aka Palyam Palli which is the main Roman Catholic cathedral in Trivandrum. Trivia - Pope John Paul II conducted a sermon here during his visit to Kerala. A short distance away is the Juma Masjid and right next to it is the Sree Sakthi Vinayaka temple - religious harmony at its best!
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| Freedom Fighter's Memorial |
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| Juma Masjid, Palayam - inaugurated by Dr Zakir Hussain in 1967 |
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| Sree Sakthi Vinayaka Temple |
In front of the Vinayaka temple is the Connemara market which was an old market with small shops selling fruits, vegetables, spices and stuff. Though the market was initially built to cater to the day-to-day needs of the public in 1857, its arch was inaugurated by Sir Robert Bourke, Governor of Madras Presidency in 1888. As he was the Baron of Connemara, the name Connemara Market.
I was hot by now and needed a drink so I dropped in at a nice restaurant called Aruna and downed three fresh lime juices one after another. I decided to walk further down towards the Secretariat which is where the Heritage walk was supposed to end but on the way I found a gate opening into the Kerala University administrative building and walked in - unchallenged by security - in fact that's one other thing I noticed here, there are no hostile security guards shooing you off, most are helpful and smiling.
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| Connemara Market |
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| University College |
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| AR Raja Raja Varma (1863-1918) - Kerala Panini, known for his pioneering work in Malayalam grammar |
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| Student forces |
There was a statue of AR Raja Raja Varma, known as Kerala's Panini for his comprehensive work on Malayalam grammar. The buildings had slogans and stuff as was expected in a University. I walked in,and took a few pics and walked out. It did look in need of some work.
From there I headed to the Secretariat and found some strike and speeches going on. The Kerala Secretariat is one of the most impressive buildings in entire Trivandrum and possibly among the most expansive in entire State. Built more than 150 years ago, it used to house the Kerala Legislative Assembly till it moved to a new premises a few years ago. The building is still used by the various Government Departments.
Kerala is indeed famous, rather infamous, for its zillion strikes and demonstrations. So much so that Mony informed me tongue-in-cheek that some creative travel agents even organize exclusive “strike tourism” outings where one can immerse oneself in taking part in these largely peaceful protests. Normally all such protests by various sections of the society are staged in front of the Secretariat. Although no more the seat of the Government, Secretariat still is the place where the strikes and dharnas (sit ins) are enacted.
It was 130 or so and Mony had called
saying Surendran would pick me up at a post office near the AG's office where
his father had worked. I found Surendran at the right spot and the right time
and we headed straight back home. Much to my joy, we were informed that Veeramani had
arranged the temple visit for us and we should be ready by 4. A new veshti had been organised for me and Mony told me to rest a bit and head down by
330 when the veshti program would begin. I did and with Mony's assistance we got the veshti in place -
generally.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
At 4 we were at the Padmanabhaswany temple North west gate which seemed to be the entry point place for some special darshans. We waited there and had a coffee until Veeramani came and took us (Eashwar and me, Mony stayed out) in. No mobiles, no nothing, just a wallet if needed. He had told us that he will be at the gate by 4.30 and exactly 5 minutes before, he appeared out of nowhere. Veeramani is a man of all seasons especially anything related to Padmanabha Swamy temple. When he arrived he had a paper note in his hand which listed out special permission from the “Palace” meaning we had privilege pass from the Royal Family – wow!! I now felt very important and started holding my head even higher, wanting to take in the “Royal” feeling. We went in - No mobiles, no nothing, just a wallet if needed.and Veeramani was very patient and explained to me and Eashwar with great care and love. First the Krishna temple, then the main temple itself where the deity Ananta Padmanabhaswamy, an 18 foot idol, resting on Ananta the celestial snake, and was viewed through three doors - one for the feet, one for the torso where the lotus came out of the deity’s navel, and the last the deity’s face and its right arm in repose.
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| Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
Before the deity, separating the crowd from the idol was this stage made of a single rock called the otakkal. While I didn’t realise then, later it sunk in that I have just witnessed one of the most iconic Hindu deities in the whole of India.Old timers had always seen the idol in pitch black colour and assumed that it was a stone idol – until a routine restoration work around two decades ago revealed that the dark black colour was the result of smoke from camphor and agarbathis regulary lit in the thousands every day. The idol was restored to its original form – covered in gold, and ever since has gained national prominence. The temple’s standing and international fame spread after the discovery of several vaults inside, as it is considered to be the largest collection of items of gold and precious stones in recorded history of the world.
Having concluded an unforgettable ‘darshan’, we went out and saw the Ganesh temple, the Hanuman deity, walked all around and came back. Veeramani seemed to know everyone inside the temple premises and they allowed us another closer look at the deity thereafter which was a huge bonus for someone like me who had no idea of actually having such a darshan. Much grateful and much obliged to Veeramani - even Eashwar who had lived quite close to the temple for a while never had such a darshan he said.
We finally made our way out. There was a dance program going on in one corner of the temple, people were walking in the temple premises - Mony said his father would walk some ten rounds around the temple complex and come back.
From there we took leave of Veeramani and Mony took us to the Ganesa temple at Pazhavangadi (a combination of Pazhaya meaning old and Angadi meaning market). In Hinduism, Ganesa is the God who removes obstacles. So people pray before Lord Ganesa and ceremonially break a coconut before starting any activity. Breaking a coconut, is meant to signify that we mere mortals let go of our ego and surrender to God. Mony informed me that whenever he faces any challenge in his personal or professional life, he immediately in his mind bows to Lord Ganesa and promises to break a few coconuts. So whenever he visits, he runs up a tally of 100 to 200 coconuts to break!! This time the count was 300!! Ganesh temple where he normally gave his mokkus - the temple has a history of people praying for things and . He negotiated with the coconut vendors outside, arranged to bring the 300 coconuts in to the temple and then started then breaking those hundreds of coconuts on in a wall created for that. The sight of the coconut vendor continually throwing coconuts at the wall reminded us cricketers of a relentless bowling machine spewing torment to a terrified batsman in the nets. He must have thrown nearly 250 coconuts in say less than 10 minutes. We broke a few too.
After the ritual, we walked around the temple, saw that there was much thought put in for the devotees comfort - at the place where you put tilak on your forehead there was a mirror to see if you got it in the right place and right next to it a towel to wipe your hands. I found these things all over - like a wash basin at a lower height for kids in restaurants. Right next to the temple were remnants of the gate to the walled city perhaps.
I had spoken to Vijay, my skipper from our varsity days and my classmate at MBA and good friend who was now posted here, and he said he would join us. Mony suggested we meet at Mascot hotel which looked like a nice place to meet up. Apparently it is a Kerala Tourism hotel, lovely location, lovely everything. We gulped a couple of beers, some snacks and we left after a bit. Vijay promised to join us the next evening at home. Mony, Eashwar and me headed back home and crashed. It had been a pretty hectic day for me and one that was way beyond my expectations.
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