Monuments of Kerala

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Pazhassiraja Museum and Art Gallery, Kozhikode

Location: About 5 km from Kozhikode town at East Hill, Kozhikode district, North Kerala.

A veritable treasure trove for historians and connoisseurs of art, the Pazhassiraja Museum is located in Kozhikode the land of spices which lured navigators from time immemorial down to the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498.

The Art Gallery adjacent to the museum displays the acclaimed paintings of Kerala's cherished artists, Raja Ravi Varma (1848 1906) whose works brought international repute to the state and his uncle Raja Raja Varma. The museum is managed by the State Archaeology Department and has on display mural paintings, antique bronzes, ancient coins, models of temples, umbrella stones, dolmenoid cists (quadrangular burial chambers with capstones), and similar megalithic monuments.

The art gallery has the oil paintings and other works of Raja Ravi Varma. For more information on Ravi Varma's works, refer 'The prince among painters and a painter among princes' . The museum and the art gallery are named after the great Pazhassiraja Kerala Varma of the Padinjare Kovilakom of the Kottayam royal family.

The famous 'Pazhassi Revolt' (against the British East India Company during the second half of the 1700s) was led by Pazhassiraja. Nicknamed the Lion of Kerala, Pazhassiraja is also credited with introducing guerilla warfare in the hills of Wayanad to resist the increasingly intolerable British colonialism. This great freedom fighter was shot dead in an encounter on 30th November, 1805.

Getting there:

Nearest railway station: Kozhikode.
Nearest airport: Karipur International Airport, Kozhikode, about 23 km from Kozhikode town.

Keywords: Kerala monuments, Monuments of Kerala, Pazhassiraja Museum, VascoDaGama Pillar,Koyikkal Palace,Madhavan Nayar Foundation, The Poonjar Palace,Museum of Kerala History,Krishnapuram Palace,Ambalavayal Heritage Museum,Edakkal Caves

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VascoDaGama Pillar

Kappad is situated 16 km from Kozhikode. This is the place where Vasco de Gama set foot 500 years ago. A pillar with inscription 'Vasco de Gama' landed here, kappakkadavu in the year 1498' stands on the beach. The memorial pillar is 4 km from Thiruvangoor on the Kozhikode-Badagara route. The beach here is very calm with a stretch of rocks projecting into the sea.

Getting There:
4 km from Thiruvangoor on the Kozhikode-Badagara route

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Koyikkal Palace, Thiruvananthapuram

Location: Nedumangad, about 18 km from Thiruvananthapuram city en route to the Ponmudi hill station and the Courtalam waterfalls,

Attractions: Palace, folklore museum and numismatics museum.Visiting hours 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on all days, except Monday. The Koyikkal Palace, situated far away from the city, was actually built for Umayamma Rani of the Venad royal family who ruled the land between 1677 and 1684.

The palace is a double storeyed traditional nalukettu with slanting gabled roofs and an inner courtyard. Today, the palace houses a Folklore Museum and a Numismatics Museum set up by the Department of Archaeology. The Folklore Museum, a treasure house of quaint musical instruments, occupational implements, household utensils, models of folk arts etc, was set up in 1992. The exhibits here draw attention to the rich cultural background of the state. The exhibits include rare articles like Chandravalayam (not found in any other such museum in Kerala), a small percussion instrument used as an accompaniment while reciting the ballad Ramakathappattu (the story of Lord Sree Rama); and Nanthuni , a sweet sounding musical instrument made of wood and string used while, singing the Onappattu and Nanthunippattu during Onam the harvest festival of Kerala.

The Folklore Museum housed on the first floor of the palace also has a wide range of household utensils including wooden kitchenware, brass/copperware etc. representing the lifestyle of the Keralites during different eras. Thaliyola (old manuscripts), Chilambu (a sort of anklet) used by Umayamma Rani and Maravuri (dress material made of the bark of trees) etc. are well preserved here. Oorakkudukku device for intellectual exercise used by the Yogis as a pastime, Gajalakshmi a lamp representing the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmiseated on her elephant, (this lamp is usually lighted at dusk and during the harvest season to welcome the goddess)etc. are other interesting exhibits. The Kettuvillakku a ceremonial lamp (artistically made out of coloured paper and locally available lightwood splits/rails), lit during festivals at the Bhagavathy temples of southern Kerala; a model of the most impressive of Theyyams the Muthappan theyyam , a Patayani kolam model ; the headgear and dress used by Ottanthullal artistes exhibited here give an insight into the performing as well as the ritual art forms of Kerala.

The Numismatics Museum at the Koyikkal Palace is the only one of its kind in the state. Occupying the ground floor of the palace, the coins here belong to different parts of the world as well as to different eras. This rare and historically valuable collection is a vestige of the trade relation of the state in the bygone ages. Among the exhibits are some of the oldest coins of Kerala Ottaputhen, Erattaputhen, Kaliyugarayan Panam etc. A Venetian coin named Amaida, believed to have been presented to Jesus Christ, is also a property of this museum.

The most valuable among the Indian coins found here are 'Karsha'. These are nearly 2500 years old. Rasi, the world's smallest coins are also on display here. Sreekrishna Rasi, one of the rasis (regional coins) issued by the local kings of Kerala around the 10th century, Anantharayan Panam the first modern gold coin of Travancore in circulation in the 15th and 17th centuries, Kochi Puthen one of the coins of the Kochi kingdom which also had variations like IndoDutch Puthen (1782 AD), Lakshmi Varaham the silver coins minted in Travancore, Rasi Palaka (the coin board) a wooden board with small niches used to count small coins (counting up to 100 to 200 at a time), coin mints etc are preserved here.

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Gundert's Bungalow

Location: About 20 km from Kannur town, at Nettur, on the outskirts of Thalassery (in Kannur district), north Kerala. Dr. Hermann Gundert (18141893), a scholar of the German Basel Mission compiled the first Malayalam English Dictionary. He also authored Malayala Rajyam (1870) which comprises the history and geography of Malabar , the first of its kind on the land's geography. He was the publisher of one of Malayalam's oldest newspaper, the "Paschimodayam" and also authored several books on Malayalam grammar, religion, and philosophy. Some of his works are Kerala Pazhama (1868), Manushya Hridayam, Vajrasooji, Muhamadeeya Charitam, Christu Sabha Charitram etc. A book on Malayalam sayings was published in 1845. He spent his last days at 'Karu' in Germany. For the lovers of the Malayalam language, the Gundert's Bungalow has been preserved as a hisorically significant place.

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Madhavan Nayar Foundation, Edappally

Location: 8 km from Ernakulam town at Edappally Ernakulam.
Timings: 10:00 17:00 hours on all days except Mondays.
Attractions Showcases the historic events and arts of Kerala.
Located at a little distance from the crowded urban centre of Ernakulam is a quiet, ethnic building hidden in the shades of huge trees. A statue of Parasurama, the sage who is said to have created Kerala, greets the visitor. This is a monument to the history of Kerala and homage to its makers. The Madhavan Nayar Foundation also called the Museum of Kerala History and Its Makers showcases historic episodes from the neolithic to the modern era through life size figures. Light 'n' sound shows are regularly organised with commentaries in English and Malayalam. There is also a gallery for paintings and sculptures, displaying over 200 original works by contemporary Indian artists. The Centre for Visual Arts here has a collection of the authentic reproduction of select world masters and larger than life mural reproductions of Indian art.

Getting there

Nearest railway station: Ernakulam, about 8 km from Edappally.
Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 20 km from Ernakulam city.

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The Poonjar Palace, Kottayam district

Location: Poonjar on the Pala-Erattupetta route, Kottayam district, central Kerala.
Attractions: Royal collection of antiques, rock cut lamps, sculptures etc.

The Poonjar Palace is a glorious testimony to the regal opulence of a bygone era. Within the palace walls is an extraordinary royal collection of antiques and exquisite furniture including a palanquin, a thoni – carved out of a single piece of wood – for Ayurvedic massages, huge chandeliers, palm leaf engravings, jewel boxes, varieties of lamps, sculptures of Nataraja (the dancing Siva), grain measures, statues and weapons.

A unique conch preserved here is taken out once a year for ritualistic purposes.Near the palace is an amazing replica of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. The walls of this temple bear sculptures that narrate stories from the Puranas (the legends of ancient India). However, the most fascinating thing here is the Chuttuvilakku (row of lamps) carved out on the stonewalls of the Sastha Temple nearby. Such rock cut lamps are rare in India.

Getting there

Nearest major railway station: Kottayam, about 30 km from Pala.

Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 76 km from Kottayam town.

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Muniyara, Idukki

LocationMuniyara is part of Marayoor which is 40 km from Munnar, in Idukki district, central Kerala. A fascinating destination for anthropologists and archaeologists from all over the world, Muniyara has remnants of Dolmenoid cists belonging to the Megalithic age. Dolmenoids were burial chambers made of four stones placed on edges and covered by a fifth one called the cap stone. Some of these Dolmenoids contain several burial chambers, others have a quadrangle scooped out in laterite and lined on the sides with granite slabs. These are also covered with cap stones. Muniyara is part of Marayoor. Marayoor occupies a vast area on the slopes of the Western Ghats in Idukki district and is an important prehistoric site in Kerala. Apart from the Dolmenoid cists in Muniyara, Marayoor is famous for its natural sandalwood forests and prehistoric rock paintings. Getting thereMarayoorMunnar is 40 km and MunnarIdukki is 55 km by road.Nearest railway station: Ernakulam junction about 173 km away.Nearest airport: Kochi International Airport, about 199 km away.

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The Fort of Tipu Sultan

LocationIn the heart of Palakkad town. Tipu's Fort, also known as Palakkad Fort, stands in the heart of Palakkad town. Palakkad is a small town on the lower edges of the Sahyadri ranges of the Western Ghats, with patches of dense forests and crisscrossed with rivers. One of the well preserved forts in south India, Tipu's Fort was constructed in 1766 AD and is today a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. The sober majesty of the laterite walls of the fort reminds one of the old tales of valour. The fort was built by Hyder Ali (1717 1782), the emperor of Mysore province (now part of Karnataka State), supposedly to facilitate communication between both sides of the Western Ghats, (Coimbatore and the West Coast). He had captured the Malabar and Kochi regions which come under the West Coast area. His son Tipu Sultan (1750 1799), a warrior as well as linguist, was known as the 'Lion of Mysore'. Tipu waged a series of wars against the British colonial rule. In 1784, after an elevenday siege, the fort was captured by the British under Colonel Fullerton. Though it later fell into the hands of the troops of the Kozhikode Zamorin, it was recaptured by the British in 1790. Tipu Sultan lost his life in 1799 in an encounter with the British and the fort later came to be known in his name. Getting thereNearest railway station: Palakkad, about 5 km.Nearest airports: Coimbatore, about 55km, in Tamilnadu State; Cochin International Airport, about 140 km towards south.