The statue of Maharaja Rama Varma, popular as Dhaarmika Chakravarthi or also referred to in history books as Chowarayil Theepetta Thampuran (the Maharaja who died at Chowara), stands at the centre of Statue Junction at Tripunithura, the heart of the royal town. This square has become the hub of activity and the busiest area in this fast growing town. A landmark and also a reminder of the past, the statue stands in the shade of a huge rain tree, fenced in, surrounded by banners, billboards and flags of political parties, inside a small landscaped space.
This statue is different as the maharaja is not in his ceremonial dress. “The statue was installed here sometime in 1935-36 immediately after he received the honorary Degree of Doctor of Law from the Banaras Hindu University. So what he is wearing is the academic dress worn during graduation and convocation functions. And the scroll he holds in his hand is the doctorate certificate. This makes it a very different statue of the maharaja. And if my memory is right, it was unveiled by Nalini Ranjan Sarcar, a member of the viceroy’s council,” informs Ravi Achan, senior Kerala cricketer and a long-time resident of the town.
The late Ravi Varma Kochunni Thampuran, direct nephew of the maharaja, was the model used for the statue. He travelled to Madras and posed for the sculptor. The face was created out of a photograph of the maharaja.
“No wonder Kochunni Thampuran used to jokingly claim that the statue was his, only the face was that of his uncle,” adds Ravi Achan.
A lot has changed in and around Statue Junction. A lot also remains the same. Constant demand for widening of roads close to the statue has forced the Municipal authorities to shrink the space around the statue. “The road that runs up from the statue to Puthen Bungalow still remains the same narrow one. The only difference being it has been tarred. Some of the old buildings (nearly 150 years) still stand, while a lot of them have been replaced by new ones. A number of high–rise buildings have sprouted in this area, says Rameshan Thampuran, who has chronicled the history of the Cochin Royal Family.
He goes on to add: “The skyscape has changed drastically. This was a fortified area with two gates with heavy doors, on the north and the east (as mentioned by Dr. K.T. Rama Varma in his biography on Rama Varma Appan Thampuran). The Poorna River on the west and the moat on the south, with guards round the clock, completed the protection for the palaces inside the fort area. The statue stood just outside the east fort gate. Till recently there were vestiges of the stone pillars of the arch here. The royal stables stood where the present Municipal building complex now stands. Later, the police quarters were located here, At the entrance of the east fort gate, close to the statue, stood the buildings that housed the security guards and the people who played the nagara (a folk drum with double head and played on one side with hands).
K. V. Pratapan Thampuran has fond memories of this place.
“The nagara used to mark time. It used to be played at six in the morning, 12 noon, and six in the evening. So, by 6 p.m. the gates used to be closed. Till recently, part of the building that housed the nagara and the rooms where the people who played it stood in the south corner of the statue. The boom of the kathina vedi ( kathinas or adirvettu in Tamil are a sort of fireworks used in temple festivals) was heard at three in the morning and also at six in the evening. It was a sort of siren marking time. The huge bell at Puthen Bungalow, the one at Hill Palace and the clock tower near the temple also chimed at these times. Kerosene lamps lit up the streets. When dusk fell, a man pushed a cart with a ladder and kerosene cans and stopped at the lamp posts lighting them. He was responsible to see that it burned right through the night. The roads were clean and watered every day.”
Elamana Hari, Retired Tahsildar (Revenue) and local historian, recounts life in the fort area of Tripunithura very vividly. He recounts standing in awe before the fort gates watching the sepoys of the Nair Brigade. “They used to stand there, gun in hand at the four entrances to the fort. When the male members of the royal family walked the road, a sepoy walked in front with a cane in hand urging people to make way. I have also seen some of the senior male members move in a strange, three-wheeler contraption. It had two big wheels behind and a smaller one in front from where a steering wheel was attached. The male member was in control as a couple of people pushed it from behind. I have seen this being used only inside the fort area.”
The women of the royal family were not seen on the streets very often, except when they went to the temple and during the temple festival days. There were a few shops inside the fort. “There were Baimani’s and Subbarayan’s tea shops, popular hangouts. Sankarayya’s cloth store, Raman Menon’s vegetable and grocery shop, Bhattathiri the watch repairer, an Ayurveda pharmacy, Sreenivasan Muthalali’s stationery shop were some of the business outlets here. Goods and services were supplied to the palaces directly. None of them needed to go out for anything. Only the common folk frequented these shops regularly,” says Elamana Hari.
The area inside the fort in Tripunithura is even today rich with history and heritage. Since it has not yet got the ‘Heritage Zone’ tag there is every possibility that this area will soon succumb to the pressure of development.
