TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – 164

Rediscovering the Lost Gateway of the Travancore Fort Palace

The entrance gate leading to the Palace of his Highness the Maharajah of Travancore,1868
Albumen print | 17.6 x 24.5 cm (image) | Royal Collection Trust: RCIN 2701522.

            

This photograph, depicting a ceremonial entrance to the Travancore Maharajah’s palace, sparked considerable discussion and debate when it was first made available by the Royal Collection Trust on their website. Dated 1868, it relates to the visit of Lord Napier, the then Governor of Madras, and Lady Napier to the kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin. The image forms part of a set of photographs documenting the gubernatorial visit. Interestingly, this photograph is preserved in an album presented to Queen Victoria by Lady Napier following the tour.

The initial debate among local historians centred on the identification of the location depicted in the photograph. I strongly maintained that the image showed an arch that once stood on the southern side of the Valiyakottaram (Fort Palace) complex, adjacent to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Others, however, associated it with the Thevalli Palace in Kollam. Subsequent research, along with the emergence of previously unseen photographs of the fort area from the 1870s, has now put the matter to rest. We can confidently state that the photograph depicts the arch entrance to the Maharajah’s Fort Palace.

What remains puzzling, however, is that this arch — with its unapologetic Neo-Baroque attributes — is nowhere to be found in the fort area today. Considering that the Neo-Baroque style was in vogue from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, and given the 1868 date of the photograph, it is reasonable to suggest that the gateway was constructed in the early 1860s, during the reign of Maharajah Ayilyam Tirunal Rama Varma (r.1860-1880).

The 1868 photograph also reveals a fence lined with a few shrubs, beyond which stands a two-storeyed building — identifiable as the southern wing of the Levee Hall (the old audience hall), which still survives with minor alterations. The vacant plot with vegetation seen in the photograph later became the site where Maharajah Mulam Tirunal Rama Varma, a nephew of Ayilyam Tirunal, constructed the Krishna Vilasam Palace. This image therefore clearly indicates that the Krishna Vilasam Palace, on the southern side of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, was built at a later date, most likely after Mulam Tirunal ascended the throne in 1885.

Krishna Vilasam palace, c.1900. Photographed by D'Cruz, the Govt. Photographer.
British Library collection.

Photograph showing the two-storeyed southern wing of the Levee Hall and the
northern portion of Krishna Vilasam, which now occupies the vacant plot seen in the 1868 photograph.

The archway that replaced this rather flamboyant Neo-Baroque structure is, unfortunately, a plain Neo-Classical gateway, characterised by a pronounced cornice and a pedimented crown. It was most likely commissioned by Mulam Tirunal and reflects the comparatively restrained artistic sensibilities of the ruler.

The Neo-Classical gateway that replaced the one seen in the 1868 photograph. Photographed by Sailal. S, 2014.

Note: The Neo-Baroque arch features in the backdrop of an early painting by Ravi Varma. The painting will appear in my forthcoming book The Forgotten Atelier.

TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – 129

                                        THE PRINCE, GOVERNOR AND TAPIOCA

Delicacies prepared from the starchy root of the cassava plant (tapioca) have been an integral part of the traditional Malayalee cuisine for over a century. Once debased as ‘poor man’s food,’ this tuber was introduced in the Travancore State as a popular crop by Maharajah Visakham Tirunal Rama Varma (r.1880-1885) during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Visakham, the nephew of Swathi Tirunal Rama Varma, was an ardent botanist and promoter of agricultural novelties, also credited to have introduced rubber trees in Travancore.

“Seven-leafed-root - the true potato of India”

How and when did the tuber, a native of Brazil, reach the Kerala coast? No one seems to have a definite answer; however, tapioca was a staple food of the indigenous tribal clans, long before it reached the platter of the Prince. In more recent times, there are references to cassava being grown in Madras Presidency in the mid-nineteenth century. Europeans residing in the Presidency often substituted tapioca for potato, “which, when prepared in a peculiar way, is totally indistinguishable from the potato.”

Around 1870s, while travelling through Madras Presidency, Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras was invited to dine at the house of a certain gentleman. At the dining table, “His Lordship was peculiarly struck at the large size and fine flavour of certain potatoes.” After complimenting the hostess for the sumptuous spread, the Governor enquired about the delicious potatoes served at the meal. To his amazement, the hostess revealed that the dish he relished the most was, in fact, tapioca balls made from tapioca root sourced from her garden (The Athenaeum, 1876).

Soon, the story of Lord Napier’s encounter with tapioca reached Visakham Tirunal. The Prince who was already informed about the benefits of the cassava plant wasted no time in sourcing some from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. Some sources mention that the first tapioca plantation in Thiruvananthapuram came up inside the Fort, in the grounds of the Vadakkae Kottaram, where Visakham Tirunal was based as the Elayarajah (Sasibhooshan. M.G., Ariyapedatha Ananthapuri, 2017).

The old-timers recall tales of Visakham Tirunal’s earnest efforts to set up tapioca farms in various parts of the State. When he assumed the gaddi, Visakham Tirunal issued a proclamation with specific instructions on cooking tapioca. It explained in great detail that after cleaning the tapioca, it had to be cooked and the water discarded and the process repeated to remove the bitter taste (Saraswathy Nagarajan, How tapioca came to Travancore, The Hindu, June 27, 2019). However, the majority of residents in the capital initially refrained from consuming the tuber. In order to instil confidence in the minds of the reluctant subjects, Visakham Tirunal ordered the cooks at the royal kitchen to include tapioca to his menu - thus elevating the humble tuber to a sought after delicacy!

Sharat Sunder Rajeev.

TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – LXXXIII

REVIVING TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE

'Reviving traditional architecture', a write-up on architect Robert F. Chisholm and Travancore's brush with Indo-Saracenic architecture, The Hindu 11-09-2017.