Puthen ("Kuthira") Malika Palace

Puthen Malika Palace (Malayalam: പുത്തന്‍ മാളിക കൊട്ടാരം), most popularly known as Kuthira Malika (Mansion of Horses), is a palace built by Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, on the south-eastern side of Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

Distant view of "Methan Mani" -- on the northern edge overlooking the  Padmatheertham Pond.

"Methan Mani" was commissioned by the Maharajas of Travancore("Thiruvithaamkoor") to commemorate the victory of the numerically and technologically inferior Travancore Army over the French trained modern forces of Tipu Sultan of Mysore at the Battle of Nedumkotta in 1789 . It has the head of a bearded man being rammed on both cheeks by a pair of mechanical goats at every hour . It had stooped functioning and hasn't been repaired since.

Close up of the "Methan Mani"

View of Gopuram of Padmanabha Swamy Temple through the grills of the Kuthira malika Palace.

Western side of the palace that is out of bounds to tourists 

Stone columns supporting wooden balcony

Another view of the western side of palace of Swathi Thirunal

Old royal baby cot

Kathakali Mannequin

Marble idols of Lord Vishnu, lord Krishna,Lord Narasimhamoorthy

Elegantly carved and embellished wooden statues of Sri Rama and Lord Hanuman 

Exquisitively carved wooden ceilings with Lotus Design

Ancient Travancore Shield made of rhino hide

Weapons of war that defeated Tipu Sultan

Mask of a Yaksha of Nepali origin .

View of Padmanabha Swamy Temple from the palace windows

Place where dances were performed for the eyes of the king

Narrow corridors of power traversed by the Kings of a realm.

Yet another splendidly carved roof of a room

Who all have walked through here?

View of the other smaller buildings of the palace complex that have not yet been opened  up for the public.

Royal bed

Travancore imperial assembly

Belgian Crystal Chandeliers

Chinese Porcelain ware possibly from Qing Dynasty China.

Chinese porcelain Dragon

Old matchlock used in wars against Zamorin , Tipu Sultan and  Britain.

Ancient metal spears.

Courtyard of the palace.

The palace gets its name from the 122 horses that are carved into the wooden wall brackets that support the southern roof. The official name of the palace is Puthen Malika (New Mansion). The palace forms part of a vast complex of royal buildings in the vicinity of Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The building was left unoccupied for more than a century, following the demise of Swathi Thirunal in 1846.

A portion of Kuthira Malika has been converted to a Palace Museum that houses some of the assets owned by the Travancore Royal Family. The collection includes Kathakali mannequins, Belgian mirrors, crystal chandeliers, paintings, armaments, musical instruments, traditional furniture and other artifacts. On the right side of the mannequins are the ivory cradles of various sizes. The palace has on display two royal thrones, one made of ivory and the other of Bohemian crystal with the Tranvancore emblem 'conch' adorning the top of the backrest. The palace has a large collection of idols and sculptures made from white marble.

On the first floor are rooms that once served as the audience chamber, the library and an alcove that Swathi Thirunal used for meditating and for conceiving many of his famous musical compositions. This place offers a direct view of the Padmanabhaswamy temple gopuram. One of the rooms displays an illusion portraint of Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, painted by Svetoslav Roerich. The face and the shoes of the king appear facing the onlooker from every corner of the room.

The palace was abandoned quite soon after its inauguration as the  south ward looking main entrance of the palace was considered bad under the rules of Vaastu Shaastra . The King lived here for less than  two months . It has remained unoccupied ever since in pristine condition.

Ulloor Subramanian Swamy Temple

Ulloor Subramanian Swamy temple is a very famous temple of Trivandrum located at Ulloor and dedicated to Lord Murugan whose more famous abode is the Palani Hills Temple. On this day of Onam'12 i decided to visit this temple for the first time . Initially i lost my way through the maze of Ulloor Gardens Residential Colony but finally with the help of kind hearted samaritan i was directed to the temple and reached the temple pond from where i reached the main entrance through the side road. .

This temple is a breathtakingly beautiful and ancient one . It has a large floor space with a huge and well maintained pond .  There is the main temple which is built of wood with a sanctum sanctorum dedicated to Lord Murugan and secondary shrines surrounding the main temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Bhramarakshas , Navagraha , Lord Ganesha and Navagrahas .

Exquisite wood panels attest to the cultural and religious heritage of the site

Temple is an example of traditional Kerala temple architecture

The sanctum sanctorum of the main temple is constructed following the circular design- kerala architecture while the shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva follows the rectangular Chola /Pandya design . There is a very tall bronze flag post used for ceremonial flag hoisting purposes during festivals . There is also a rather handsome peacock who graciously displayed his magnificent plumage and posed for several snaps when i chanced by his enclosure.

Shrine to Lord Shiva which has been constructed in the typical Chola/Pandyan Style

Bronze "kodimaram" Flag post 

The temple though located only a stone's throw away from the NH-47 retains the serenity and idyllic charm of village shrine .

Gateway to the temple on the eastern side which has a two floor gate house

Though the heavy traffic and bad roads from kowdiar to ulloor are a con still the spiritual vibrations that i felt at the place calls me back to visit it again and again .

the "Aal Maram"

Steps leading to the temple pond

The "Mayil Vahanam" of Lord Murugan

Beautiful plumage in full glory... come on girls i am open for "business"

Strutting .....but no girls no watch him

the dejected bachelor is back to his original post

Gulmohar Blooms at Kanakakunnu Palace grounds

Ancient Vedic Villumangalam Mana of Trivandrum(Kerala,India)

 Villumangalam swamiyar is a famous vaishnava devotee of Lord Vishnu with many literary works to his credit.

Villumangalam mana

"Mana" of Villumangalam swamiyaar who was instrumental in establishment of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in Trivandrum .It is located to the south of world famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.

Architectural and cultural heritage of Kerala - the 'mana' is in a dilapidated condition due to governmental  indifference.

the old wooden supports and terracotta tiles have been replaced by non-aesthetic aluminium roofing

Mithranandapuram Lake lying adjacent to the "Mithranandapuram  Trimurti Temple". It was recently renovated and cleaned after high court intervention despite state government's indifference.