A house and some memories

A view of Madakkappillil house near Chittoor Road in Kochi

This house certainly has a lot of character. Unlike the new houses that seem to have come out of the same book of designs, this one, built nearly 150 years ago in the traditional Kerala style, has stood the test of time.

The Madakkappillil tharavad that was once the centrepiece of a sprawling two acre plot in the heart of the city is now surrounded by a number of new concrete structures, all belonging to members of the Madakkappillil family. But all of them pale into insignificance before this stately building that stands almost at the centre of Madakkappillil Lane, off Chittoor Road, close to Government Girls High School.

Originally built as an

ettukettu , the building had two

nadumuttams (courtyard) or central open court yards. The main one was used as the sitting and living area, while the other one served as the kitchen and dining space. “The living area comprised the

thekkini ,

kizhakini ,

antharalams or intermediate spaces and rooms. There was the

ara , the

nilavara , attic and all the features of a traditional

ettukettu . The

ara was used as a pooja room for the presiding deity and preserved in all sanctity. The

nilavara or an underground storage room was dark and it took some effort to latch on to a rope and climb down the narrow steps,” says P. K. Ravindran, a sixth generation member of the family.

Ravindran travels down memory lane to a time when there were around 20 to 25 people living in this house. “The kitchen space had the

vadakkini , the well and the kottathalam , a granite platform around the well where one stood and drew water. The family for many generations was associated with the Ernakulam Siva Temple with each member assigned specific duties. I remember my great grandmother handing out duties to the seven men we had sort of hired from the Ambalavasi Kurup community every morning. They used to stay in one huge room which was for us children out of bounds.”

Sometime in the early 60s the family had to pull down the kitchen side or the adukalakettu . “Wear and tear, lack of proper and timely maintenance forced us to do this. But we retained the front portion, the naalukettu . And we have taken care to maintain and preserve it ever since.”

The family property was partitioned in 1972 but the

tharavad was left intact. The house is not occupied at present as its owners, Dr. P.R. Sasidharan and his sister Prema, are based in Brunei and Thiruvananthapuram respectively. “But we have decided amongst ourselves that the

tharavad be preserved. So we meet here for Vishu, Onam and of course for the annual festival at the Siva Temple. All the members of the family make it a point to be here and we spend some happy days again in this house.”

Most of them have their own homes around the naalukettu and this makes accommodating all the members who turn up for these special occasions quite easy. “Till 2010 we had someone from the family staying here. It is only now that it has been closed.

Originally our tharavad was a 5,000 square feet structure. Now it is around 2,000 sq ft. But we have preserved it as well as we can. Nothing much has changed in this part of the house. Some of the trees had to be felled to make way for the new houses around. But the old mango, coconut and arecanut trees still stand on property. The pond and the sarpakavu or the sacred grove is no longer there. The walls and the wooden structures have been strengthened with a modern coating system and the flooring has been redone keeping the red oxide colour and texture of the original. The other additions to the house are the modern toilets, wash basins and spacious bathrooms outside. Even the thulasithara is the same.”

It’s raining outside. Sitting in the nadumuttam , you can feel the rain as it pours through the rectangular opening into the open courtyard. There are many modern buildings that have sensibly adapted this architectural style but there is something special about the smell, the ambience of a heritage house like this one.