Shakthan Thampuran Palace, Thrissur

One day, I was about to visit this Palace when my father said he would give me a company. It took me by surprise for until then, neither had he shown any kind of inclination towards travel nor had he encouraged it. Besides, the palace was just stone’s throw away from my house.

Though I was happy to accept his offer, I was a bit apprehensive for he was a conventional and protective father. I was not really sure whether he could accommodate the mindset of a traveller in me. At the same time, I was happy that he offered to come with me. Hence, I kept all those thoughts for a while and set off with him to visit the place.

We reached by around 2 pm and in no time, I could see that he was enjoying every moment. It would not take more than an hour to see the palace, but the ambience and the company were too good that we ended up spending around three hours.

My Dad was too happy that he said “ I love travelling alone. I could not do that due to several commitments in my life.”

That got me thinking “ If such a small place can do such wonders what would a long travel can accomplish.” These thoughts just increased my yearning to travel.

Situated at Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, the palace was built by Raja Ramavarma Shakthan Thampuran ( 1790 – 1805) and is now maintained by the Archaeological department.

Pic Credit : Artist Dinesh R Shenoy

Built in the Dutch and Kerala style, it was previously known as ‘Vadakkechira Kovilakam’ and was renovated by Shakthan Thampuran. Spotting this place is easy once you are in Thrissur as it’s in the North Bus Stand.

It wouldn’t take more than an hour to see the palace. But, it’s the well-maintained garden that would attract your attention. It was full of greenery.

Inside the Garden

Dad posing for the camera ( inside the garden)

There are several sections inside the Heritage garden and what interested me the most was the   ‘ Butterfly Garden’. Surprisingly, as the name indicates, there were butterflies all around.

Butterfly Garden

The Serpent Grove – Sarpa Kavu

A side view of the Serpent Grove

So, what is a ‘ Sarpa Kavu’ or Serpent Grove?

The popular belief is that it’s where the Snake Gods lives. The Hindus worship Snake Gods by placing idols of snake gods inside a dense forest mostly, man made with all kinds of trees and plants. They lit small lamps as part of their worship.‘ Nagaradhana’ or snake worship is being practiced by Keralite Hindus for the past many centuries.

The Pond called ‘ Vadakkechira’ is a part of the palace and is under the Cochin Devaswom Board.

Finally, the tomb of Shakthan Thampuran

The tomb of Shakthan Thampuran

It’s certainly not a grand and huge palace but not devoid of charm. Hence, when you are in Thrissur, do not miss this palace by Shakthan Thampuran whose rule had been called the ‘ Golden Era’ of the erstwhile Kochi Dynasty.

To enter the palace, you need to pay a nominal fee.

• Camera is not allowed inside the palace. 

From Cochin Airport, it is around two and a half hours away and from Thrissur railway station, it is just 2.6 kilometers away.

” Have you ever been to Thrissur and visited this Palace? ” 

Chellanam, untouched by urbanization and tourism, this small hamlet is a beauty

When I set out for “Chellanam”, a coastal village in the west of Kochi on a Sunday morning, I knew nothing about it except for a few facts that it is a place which often gets affected whenever nature decides to sulk. Villagers live a hard life as the sea can get rough anytime. Even the Tsunami waves, Cyclone Okchi and the sporadic monster waves that never hesitate to lash out did not spare this small hamlet which is untouched by urbanization.

As not much has been written about the place except how unruly ‘Nature’ traumatize the inhabitants often, I couldn’t gather much information about the place which left me with one option to take a bus to Chellanam which is just around 24 kilometres from Kochi. I stay at Kochi.  At the same time, during the course of my inquiry, I came to know that people at Chellanam are very friendly which was, of course, a comforting factor.

On the way, I met Smithesh, an auto driver who hails from Chellanam without whom I would have been left clueless on how to explore the place.

Velankanni Church on the shores of Maruvakkadu beach built in the name of St Mary instantaneously became one of the places to visit as I got to know that though Tsunami waves played havoc all across Chellanam in 2004, the boisterous waves did not enter the church, perhaps a miracle.

While arriving there, I saw several bunches of Bananas hung on a rope with both ends attached to two wooden poles erected on both sides. “ It’s called ‘ Kula Perunnal’. (Kula means bunch and Perunnal means festival.) The bananas will be auctioned and the money thus earned will be used for the activities of the church. The parishioners were getting ready for it. Inside the church Dasan whom I met right there and was busy with the festival invited me to attend it. I could have but as I was planning on returning the same day, I politely refused.

Even when I was inquiring about the Kula Perunnal, I could hear the lapping waves of the Arabian sea in the background. Just climb a few steps leading to the sea wall and you will be surprised that the same placid waters could be rough any time.

As the day slowly progressed, people were coming and getting settled before the church and on the sea wall. Thomas, whom I met there told me that don’t be taken in by the calmness of the sea. “ Just two days ago, the water advanced too much that the land and the water merged.”

After spending some precious moments, I was on my way to Chellanam harbour. The muddy road leading to the harbour was too narrow and bumpy as the south west monsoon had already started and it was raining cats and dogs.

On either sides, there were small houses and a marriage function was going on in one of them. On the way I met and chatted with some fishermen who were working on their nets and then went on my way to absorb the beautiful scenery around.

A beautiful small chapel built in the form of a ship awaits you in the harbour.

Harbour at Chellanam

It’s so true that travel makes you more conscious about the environment which you might not have been aware of before. The sight that saddened me during my hours in Chellanam was when I saw the food waste from one of the nearby houses, where a marriage function was going on being dumped in the sea, though they have their own reasons on why they did that. And soon, it was time to move towards another location.

Despite the traditional occupation – fishing which is their main source of livelihood, they also undertake prawn farming. The view was mesmerizing and I hardly realised that underneath these coconut trees prawns were being reared.

“From the initiation period, at least eight months are needed before the prawns are harvested. Not only, prawns we also carry out farming of Pearl spot fish and many others,” Smithesh explained along the way.

Though it brings in money, several risks are also associated with the business, he added.

Time flew back like the ‘arctic tern’ as I savoured the natural beauty of the place. I headed back home vowing to return with ample time at my disposal yet another time, soon.

" Have you ever heard of this beautiful hamlet in Ernakulam, Kerala?”