House with a regal past

Thiruvattar Ammaveedu in Kanyakumari district, one of the ancestral homes of the royal consorts, can trace it’s history back to the time of Dharmaraja of Travancore

August 04, 2017 03:49 pm | Updated 03:49 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

View of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu from the Southern side

View of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu from the Southern side

The ancient Adi Kesava Perumal temple in Thiruvattar, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, serves as the core of a settlement that still preserves its old world charm. As the name suggests, the temple, perched on top of an elevated spot, is surrounded on three sides by Parali River, giving Thiruvattar the impression of an island. Scattered around the temple are many ancient houses whose names can be found in the annals of erstwhile Travancore’s history.

A stone’s throw from the Adi Kesava Perumal temple is the Thiruvattar Ammaveedu, one of the ancestral homes of the Ammachis, consorts of the Travancore royals. The shifting of the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram prompted the consorts and their relations to relocate and establish houses near the royal abode. However, these families maintained their ancestral houses, family temples, and vast landed properties in Kanyakumari district.

The poomukham of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu

The poomukham of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu

The origin and early history of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu and the other aristocratic Ammaveedus in Nagercoil, Vadasherri, and Arumana, is narrated by Pratap Kizhakkaemadhom in his book Pattum Parivattavum . Pratap observes that the modern history of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu starts with Dharmaraja who had a consort from the family. Later, Dharmaraja’s successor, Avittom Tirunal Balarama Varma, married from the same Ammaveedu.

Thiruvattar Ammaveedu maintained a close association with Adi Kesava Perumal temple. A Huzur record dated 1810 mentions the special offerings made at the temple in association with the birthday of ‘Thiruvattattu Ammachi’ (consort of Avittom Tirunal).

The Thekkath of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu

The Thekkath of Thiruvattar Ammaveedu

Today, the name of the house is often associated with Swathi Tirunal Rama Varma (b.1813-d.1846), the King of Travancore, who had two wives who were adopted to Thiruvattar Ammaveedu. The old Thiruvattar Ammaveedu in Perunthanni, Thiruvananthapuram, was expanded and reconstructed following Swathi’s orders. Later, one of Swathi’s nephews also married from Thiruvattar Ammaveedu.

The remains of the ancestral home of the Ammachis can still be seen today, adjacent to the Thiruvattar bus stand. The wooden gable of the thekkath (family temple), spotting intricate craftsmanship is almost hidden behind the row of modern edifices. The once sprawling front yard and the padippura made way for new constructions. A fragment of the old ettukettu (house with two courtyards) with its ornate gables and finely carved wooden pillars is all that remains to remind one of its former glory. “The ancestral house in Thiruvattar was also reconstructed during the time of Swathi Tirunal,” says Chandrakumaran Thampi, a member of the family settled in Thiruvattar. The old residential complex consisted of a sizeable thai veedu (chief residential unit) with two courtyards, gateways, a pond, and several auxiliary structures, typical of an aristocratic homestead seen in Southern Travancore.

The partition of the family assets resulted in the demolition of a section of the house; however, the ancient thekkath housing the family deity is preserved in its original form.

“It was my father, Sethu Madhavan Thampi, who settled in Thiruvattar and looked after the old house and its properties, the rest of the family was settled in Thiruvananthapuram. In the olden days, the maintenance of the house was taken care of by the PWD. I still remember them changing the old thatch roofing when they came for the periodic maintenance of the nearby government institutions,” recalls Thampi.

The old way of life changed post Independence and today the house remains a ghost of its regal past.

The author is a conservation architect and history buff

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