What stuns a visitor to the Padmanabhapuram Palace in Kanniyakumari district is its construction in wood. A UNESCO report says it is an exceptional example of indigenous building techniques and craftsmanship in wood, a style unparalleled in the world and based on the historic building system, Taccusastra (the science of carpentry).
The palace, once the abode of Travancore kings built over many decades, had a very humble origin. The palace and the fort around it were mere mud structures with a thatched roof.
Writing in Kerala society papers, the late poet Kavimani Desigavinayakam Pillai says the granite structures at Padmanabhapuram and the Udayagiri Fort were “only the old mud walls (of about 1600 CE) rendered more secure and replaced with stones in subsequent years”.
He says reconstruction took place during the reign of Marthanda Varma, the creator of modern Travancore. Eustachius De Lannoy, a Dutch captain who later became the commander-in-chief of the Travancore army, oversaw the exercise.
Under Kerala’s control
The 400-year-old palace complex, housing 14 buildings on 6.5 acres, is set within a fort of 185 acres, built between the 1590s and the early 1800s. It continues to be under the control of the Kerala government even after Kanniyakumari was annexed to Tamil Nadu in 1956 following the reorganisation of the States.
Drawing on the palm-leaf records in the archives of Vanikarama Mudaliar, a representative of the Travancore kings in Nanjil Nadu, Kavimani also discloses the rich contribution made by people of the area extending from Mangalam to Manakudy. “As per the records, the people of Nanjil Nadu had paid a cess of one ‘fanam’ on every ‘ma’ [area] of the land under cultivation. The king who issued the royal writ for the cess was Sri Vira Ravi Varma, who ruled over Venadu between 1592 and 1609. The name, Venadu, was changed into Travancore by Marthanda Varma,” explained A.K. Perumal, who has published the palm-leaf manuscripts under the title Mudaliar Avanangal.
The original name of Padmanabhapuram was Kalkulam. A taluk still bears the name in Kanniyakumari district. Dutch traveller John Nieuhoff, who had seen the fortified town, had referred to the place as Kalkolang in his book Voyages and Travels (1664). Kavimani has quoted him in his article.
Chief residence
“Kalkolang is the chief residence of the king, who constantly keeps a garrison of 10,000 Negroes here to secure it against the Neyk of Madure [the Nayaks of Madurai], whose power is much dreaded here,” writes Nieuhoff.
Mr. Perumal, however, rejected Nieuhoff’s claim about the presence of “Negroes”. “He would have come to the conclusion after seeing dark-skinned people keeping vigil at the fort. We do not have any evidence of the arrival of the Black people [from Africa],” he explained.
While studying the palace for possible inclusion in the list of World Heritage Sites, UNESCO reported in 2014 that the palace was a product of fusion of traditional building technology, exquisite craftsmanship and superior knowledge of material science.
The palace stands testimony to a traditional timber architecture with adherence to the traditional building code, the Taccusastra, which has a prescription for the function and placement, direction, size and design of a structure and specifications for designated spaces within individual structures, the report says.
Later additions to the palace showcased the changing styles in architecture with the influence of the Portuguese and the Dutch. “The uniformity of style is maintained throughout, while variety is achieved in differences in the details of decorative motifs,” the report further says.
Though the UNESCO report comments that the “Padmanabhapuram Palace is the oldest, largest and well-preserved surviving example of the traditional wooden architecture in India”, its present condition calls for regular upkeep and conservation.
Paintings fading
Broken and displaced tiles on the roof have caused leakage when it rains, affecting the wooden ceiling at many places, especially in the huge dining hall. There is a danger of the wood falling prey to termites. Floors in the upper storeys of a couple of the buildings have developed cracks. Plasters have peeled off, exposing the bricks. The paintings adorning the walls are fading. “The deterioration at some places is the result of age. The Kerala government has made a preliminary study for the scientific conservation of the palace. The work is expected to begin in December,” said C.S. Ajithkumar, the officer in charge of the palace.
