The quaint palace complex in Eraniel, with its vasantha mandapam and tank, located about 20 km from Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district will soon be restored to its original glory.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department has already completed the estimate for the work and has called for tenders from people with expertise in conservation of such buildings.
Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, who lived in the 8th Century A.D., is said to have constructed a palace and a fort here. Later, the Venad dynasty kings are said to have lived here. The complex with a two-storey palace having a central courtyard, four rooms and a kitchen and having a roof made of wooden rafters and Mangalore tiles is located on a 2.43 acre piece of land.
The vasantha mandapam has a long stone bench carved out of a single stone and is said to have been a place where the royals rested. There are a total of 36 wooden carvings of warriors seated on horses and elephants, men fighting tigers, a king visiting the city, and the king watching dance performers all along the ceiling of the 80.98 sq. m mandapam.
The palace was passed over to the State along with Kanniyakumari district temples during the reorganisation of States in 1956. “We are looking for people who have experience in restoring such buildings. The work won’t be entrusted to ordinary contractors. We would like to restore it and use it as a centre of arts and education,” explained an official.
Conservation architect N. Ramaswamy said the present set of buildings would be around 150-200 years old. “Earlier too there was a palace with a township and a settlement. Though portions of the walls have even fallen, it is very much possible to restore the buildings, only it would be a bit more expensive. The present set of buildings can be restored and made into a beautiful museum, a library-cum-research centre,” he said.
