Shrouding the eight-acre premises of the Kavalappara Palace, which once stood for royalty and grandeur, is a near-impregnable thicket of unruly greenery infested by breeds of reptiles.
What is more disheartening is the state of neglect surrounding the 10,000 rare records of the ancient Mooppil Nair family, the legendary landlords who owned the palace and ruled swathes of land that came under Valluvanad and erstwhile Cochin state. The Kavalappara Swaroopam , as the records are known, are now feasted by moths.
Historians say the family ruled over 31.079 sq.km area located in and around the present Shornur, which was given to them by the famous king Cheraman Perumal, who controlled the Malabar region.
The palace’s descent to the present state began in the sixties when the litigations involving the descendents of the Mooppil Nair family began, leading to the area being placed under the receiver rule.
Though the main buildings have been auctioned in the middle of eighties and the contractors have removed them completely, some structures like an Oottupura and Maalika Chuvadu still remain, evoke a unique old world charm despite the ruin.
“The Cheraman Perumal gave the land to the Kavalpara Mooppil Nair family, who administered the area with his managers or Karyasthans. But shortly after the death of the head of the family, Karakkat Kumaran Raman Kochunni Mooppil Nair in 1964, the disputes among the successors of the family began. Court cases since 1967 led to the Kavalappara Estate in Shoranur and some other properties of the palace in Palakkad district being placed under the receiver administration,’’ recalls O.P. Balakrishnan, who wrote a book on the rich legacy of the family that once threatened even the monpoly of Zamorins in Malabar.
“The biggest Pooram festival in Malabar used to take place at the Aryankavu temple in Shoranur, which was owned by the Mooppil Nair family. Though the Poornam is still held in the Malayalam month of Meenam 1 to 21, changing times and loss of property due to the land reforms have drained the festival of its charm.
“The Pooram was the held with the participation of 96 villages under the Kavalappara Swaroopam (the jurisdiction of the Kavalappara Mooppil family),” he adds.
There were demands to protect the palace and its valuable records. Despite promises from the State government, no proper initiative has been taken to protect the heritage and the historical documents that throw light on the administration of the erstwhile Swaroopams .
“It is high time the Archaeological Department intervened. Any lapse would destroy a vast pool of resources throwing light on the medieval history of Kerala,’’ said Prasad K. Shornur, a local social worker.
Kavalappara Palace, home of the Mooppil Nairs, is in a state of heavy ruin.
