Padmanabhapuram Palace - Suchindram Temple

  Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, India
Saturday, December 29, 2007

At the end of the land, we have God's own country. And at the end of that divine stretch, we have much more. Beyond the white sandy stretch of the Kovalam and before the magical 270 degree watery expanse at Kanyakumari, there are 80kms of tar that cuts through Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Most of this is just a road or rail journey which you can spend looking out at green, verdant landscape, or maybe catch up on a couple of hours sleep.
 
And then, you could also do more. Like, catch up on what lies between. Two convenient and interesting stops are maybe what can easily be adjusted into the itinerary without really making a Kanyakumari visit tiring. In the process, you take in the royal ambience of an 18th century palace, and further down, a 1300 year old temple with a bizarre variant of agni pariksha or a test of purity by fire. More on that along the way...
 
Like most places in Kerala, six in the morning in Thiruvananthapuram is a good time to start the day. A great time to begin an 160km journey and return to square one by nightfall. Especially, more so, if you also want to fit in an audience with royalty and a feel of an authentic South Indian temple.
 
We start off from Thiruvananthapuram's Thampanoor bus stand, just a stroll away from the railway station. Actually, you can reach Kanyakumari by train as well - but then stopping off on the way may not be practical. If you don't like travelling budget class, you can hire a cab or drive down. But, we did it by the state transport bus. The feel of travelling can never be bettered; and, there are plenty of buses plying round the clock.
 
The traffic is still thin and the road out of Thiruvananthapuram city has just been repaired after the state's unforgiving monsoons. An hour into the drive, we have exited Kerala state, entered Tamil Nadu and, before long, are in Marthandam, the first major town across the border. The signboards now are more in Tamil, but for the records the folks living in the entire stretch manage each other's languages with reasonable comfort.
 
60 kms into our journey, we approach Thuckalai, and the busy as ever conductor nudges us to indicate that we smoothen our dresses, our hair and our general demeanour - Padmanabhapuram Palace is just two kilometres away. At the bus station, there are plenty of autos that charge you about Rs.50/- to deposit you at the palace gates. Walking isn't a very good option, with time at a premium - we also don't want to walk into a palace sweating and smelling!

The palace from outside

Padmanabhapuram Palace
The first glimpse of the palace can give you mixed feelings. If your idea of a royal residence is on the lines of the Rajasthani extravaganza, or even the magnificient Mysore palace, the Padmanabhapuram Palace can be a little disappointing.

But wait, don't fall for that deception yet. Royal architectural beauty isn't really just skin deep. Just for the records, you are in front of the biggest wooden palace in the whole of the country. To boot, this was the seat of the Travancore kings and boasts of 127 rooms spread across a 6.5 acres complex. A myriad of inner courtyards and underground passages fill the compound which is a repository of cultural treasures that include 17th and 18th century murals, exquisite woodwork on the ceiling and walls, the famed black and red shiny floors made up of a unique mix of jaggery, lime, burnt coconut, egg white, charcoal and sand from the rivers.

In the royal compound

 
If at first glance you wonder if there is anything palatial about Padmanabhapuram Palace, it's time to meet God - if at all, as they say, he lives in the details. So here goes. Out of ninety flowers carved in the ceiling in the poomukham or the portico, there are no patterns that are alike. And there is this incredible trivia to sleep on. Then again, if you thought that the hanging brass lamp was just another, look again. The knight on horseback that adorns the lamp will continue to face ahead, howsoever many times you may twirl it around. The captivating murals, the floor to wall mirrors, the stained glass windows, the crafty trap doors - they are all subtle expressions of the craft that has made a palace that is royal without being ostentatious.

History in granite, wood and tiles

But first, let's flip back the pages of history and trace the origins of the land we stand on. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, Padmanabhapuram was an important seat of royalty, trade and culture, peaking under the reign of Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma who ruled it mid-18th century. Straddling today's Kerala-Tamil Nadu border area, the palace compound comprised of 86 acres till the delineation of the states took place and the royal estate is a mere 6.5 acres administered by Kerala.

The poomukham

As we step into the palace compound and walk into a large courtyard that must have seen many royal guests welcomed by the king, I feel the environs blend into a symphony of wood and stone. It is a revelation in how grandeur can be so articulate without being grandiose. Form flowing into function and not just a show of opulence is striking. Of course, when royalty resided here, anyone coming in uninvited would have to, otherwise, negotiate a moat, filled with crocodiles, that runs along the outer walls of the palace.
 

The chinese jars

 
If you were a hungry Brahmin in those times, you would most likely head for the oottupura, the dining hall. This is a 78 metre long two storied affair with twin halls that could seat upto 2000 subjects, waiting for their banana leaves to get filled up. One look at the huge Chinese jars kept ahead gives you a gastronomic idea as to the delicacies and pickles stored in them.
 

Ambarimukhappu - the royal balcony

Now for a strange geographical fact. As I stand on the ambarimukhappu , a balcony shaped like an ambari or the seat used on an elephant, I realise that this was where the king used to sit and view the chariot races during festivals and appear before the public on special occasions. Looking out from the intricately carved out wooden extension at a small lane below, it's hard to imagine that you are standing in Kerala state and watching a pedestrian just 10 metres away in another state. Yes, the palace property is virtually an island bang in the middle of Tamil Nadu.
 
It doesn't take long to get convinced that this is indeed the largest wooden palace complex in Asia. If there is ever a poetry - nay, an epic! - in wood, this is one. Generous portions of the best teak wood come to life in an artistry that blends granite to paint this quintessential portrait of the best Kerala-style palatial finery.

What mysteries lie behind these doors...

We marvel at the teak beams that rise majestically from the polished floor and end with a gasp as we take in the magnificently carved rosewood ceilings, replete with myriad floral patterns.

Poetry in wood...

 

The old royal pond

A walk around the bathing ghats of the pond leads you to the Upparika Malika. The four storied building houses the king's quarters, with the royal bedroom and its huge poster bed that is a gift from the Dutch, specially made up of 67 pieces of wood from various trees with medicinal properties.

The royal bed

The third floor is where the king's puja (prayer) room is, filled with 8th century murals. The ladies quarters, the Veppumoottu Kottaram has cleverly crafted slats for the inmates to watch the world - especially the Durbar hall, the cultural events at the Mandapams (halls) - from the privacy of their own.
 
With every corridor and room different in its own brilliance and individuality, there is still something extra built into the Navaratri Mandapam that takes your breath away. The floor, built to match the best of dancers step to step, shines back like a mirror. The pillars strike poses that could give a complex to the performers on stage.

The mandapam minus the dancers

To one side of the palace is a well laid out museum which is a veritable walkthrough in the period history from the 8th to the 18th century. Once this was where the royal stable stood. Replete with an array of period treasures including stone and bronze sculptures, paintings, murals to weaponry and armoury, it is well worth a visit. While the rare coins and copper manuscripts give a glimpse of the brain of the times, the armoury section highlights the brawn. Don't forget to take a closer, harder look at the prize display here - a metal straitjacket used as capital punishment. Once fettered inside and the sharp iron pieces clamp down from all sides, you would wish you hadn't done that crime!
As if all this weren't fascinating enough, for the regular Malayalee, the palace is nothing short of a cinematic pilgrimage. For no less than two blockbusters, megastar, mega-grossers have been shot here. And much less than die-hard film buffs will be able to match off these corridors, rooms and the surroundings to those famous scenes in His Highness Abdulla and Manichitrathazhu (remade in Hindi as Bhool-bhulaiyya).

The silent corridors

 
Needless to add, a guide may be able to help give you a better appreciation of the sights in this heritage wonder.

The journey onwards begins from the Thuckalai bus stand. We don't bother to wait for a direct bus to Suchindram and just board one of the many headed for Nagercoil, the district headquarters.
 
A 15 minute journey from Nagercoil and we get off at the Suchindram stop. A road, on our right, tells us the temple complex cannot be far off. We walk past a row of small shops, the commercial corridor that sprouts near most places of worship. Soon a large temple pond spreads out on the right and a towering gopuram looms up ahead.

The temple pond

 

Suchindram Thanumalaya Temple
We are looking at Suchindram temple, all of an imposing 134 feet in height, built in the best traditions of South Indian temple architecture. Sheer poetry exudes in the sculptures and inscriptions that make up the exterior, promising equal brilliance inside. We reach the covered area in front of the majestic door that is, apparently, 24 feet high, with beautiful carvings all across.

The entrance to the temple

The temple belonged to, and was maintained and administered by the Travancore kings till Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu. Suchindram is unique in that this happens to be the only shrine where the deity is in the form of Thanumalayan, which is a linga being the representation of the combined forces of the trinity of Hindu mythology, viz. Siva, Vishnu and Brahma. Reason why both Shaivites and Vaishnavites flock here alike. Indra was said to have been purified at the spot where the temple now stands, hence Suchindram - suchi meaning purity. It is popular belief that the God Indra still pays a visit to the temple and performs the Ardhajama pooja every night.

The Thanumalaya Temple

While non-Hindus and foreigners are permitted inside, men have to take off their shirts. Nor are any electronic items - hence photography - allowed inside. The temple complex is ringed by a single corridor that envelopes the compound and its many mandapams inhabited by the pantheon, priests and pilgrims alike. Inside, the crowd of worshippers begins welling towards the sanctum where a large lingam reposes. Around it are other mandapams that house about 30 shrines, including one of Lord Vishnu. Every panel, every pillar seemed to be bestowed with a range of carvings and sculptures. Scenes from the Bhagwad Gita pan out wherever you look - but it is the rare depictions of Parthasarathi (Lord Krishna) in the form of the Trinity and the female form of Vinayaka (Ganesha) that arrests you. The prakaram (the path that circumambulates the temple premises), like the ones in the temples at Madurai and Rameswaram, is quite long.

Ancient, revered...

As is the hallmark of all temples one would see in South India, the quality of workmanship is sublime. Beyond the exquisite beauty of the structure and its carving, it is sheer architectural and construction genius at work once you look around. Take for instance the imposing idol of Nandi (Lord Shiva's bull) at the northern side of the temple. Also called Maakkalai, an impressive 13 feet high lime and mortar creation that is 21 feet long and 10 wide, this is arguably the biggest Nandi you could get to see. Just behind this is the Alankara Mandapam which houses the fascinating musical pillars. Carved from a single stone are four large pillars which branch out into smaller ones. Two of these have 33 and the other two 25 smaller pillars, and these produce the seven swaras when tapped. The hall is cool and silent despite the cacophony outside - with our ears to the pillar we tap hard and hear a muted "sa". Or was that a "re"?
From an aural fantasy to a visual one, next up is a depiction of a viswaroopam. An 18 foot tall figure of Hanuman, carved out of a single block of granite, towered over mere mortals in the form of Anjaneya at the eastern end of the northern corridor.

Before we head for the stop to hop on to the Kanyakumari bus, I must let you in on the variant of the agnipariksha, Suchindram style. Kaimukkal or dipping of the hand, was a practice followed between the 17th and 19th centuries till a Government order prohibited it in the 1860s. Any Namboothiri, or a high caste Brahmin, who was excommunicated following a suspected instance of immorality had to dip his hand in a copper vessel containing boiling ghee and pull out a small silver ox statuette to prove his innocence and, thereby, his character. The temple was, then, a part of Travancore and the trustees and the priests were Malayalee Brahmins; the dipping could only be done once the king gave his consent, and on a designated date. Despite the obvious risks that this bizarre test had in store, there was little for an accused to choose from. From the status of an upper class landlord, either he was pushed to the fringes of society, or hope for a miracle to happen when he unfolded his hand on the third day following the dipping. If the hand was found to be black and bruised, he was proclaimed guilty; and it was the end of the social road for him; if white and unscathed, he was given a clean chit, gifts from the king and his position back in society. Of course, there is also a personal angle to the story in that it genetically binds me with these events that took place so long ago. As per the temple records, the last instance (in 1802) of a gentleman who came out of  the ordeal unscathed, and thereby exonerated, happened to be a few generations away in our family tree.

With my head full of images from an 18th century palace and a 1300 year old temple, and the wind in my hair, I look out at the passing landscape hoping to catch a glimpse of the three oceans somewhere in the horizon. It won't be long before we pull into Kanyakumari town.

Vivekananda memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue

A short walk would take us to Land's end and a small boat-ride to Vivekananda's rock and the towering statue of Thiruvalluvar next to it.

Sunset at land's end

A few hours later we would be back on the bus and hoping to reach Thiruvananthapuram by night. Of course, on the way we will pass a temple and a palace. As for now, I have seen enough of them and am sure to get lost in the countless rooms of the palace as soon as my head hits the pillow. And maybe wake up screaming from a nightmare where I am made to dip my hands in a cauldron of boiling oil.

Reaching there: Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, is the nearest airport, and has flights from most cities and major towns in India. Rail connectivity is excellent, with superfast trains from all states. Just that, travel time can be quite long, esp. from the north and the eastern parts of the country.
 
Reaching there: Padmanabhapuram Palace (2kms east of Thuckalai)
Buses to Nagercoil and Kanyakumari are aplenty from the Thiruvananthapuram's Thampanoor bus stand, near the railway station. Thuckalai, the get-off point for the palace is 60kms from Thampanoor stand - remember to nag the conductor or your fellow passengers to let you know once you reach there...else you might well head for Nagercoil! Autorickshaws charge about Rs.30/- (one-way) from the bus-stop to the palace gates.
 
Timings: 9am to 1pm  2-5pm (Closed on Mondays and national holidays)
Entry fees : Rs.10/- & Rs.2/- (Adults & kids)  Rs.25/- & Rs.1200/- Still & video camera
 
Reaching there: Suchindram
Buses carrying on to Kanyakumari from the Thuckalai stand will drop you off at Suchindram, 13 kms short of Kanyakumari. Alternatively, catch any bus going to Nagercoil, and hop on to the Kanyakumar bound buses, if you don't want to wait too long at Thuckalai.
 
Reaching there: Kanyakumari
If you chose not to alight at the Palace or Suchindram, you would drive into Kanyakumari town after a 3hr bus journey from Thiruvananthapuram. You could also take one of the two daily express trains and reach faster in 2 hours. Just remember to catch a bus by 6pm latest, if you plan to return to Thiruvananthapuram at a decent hour.