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HERITAGE

A tradition of grandeur

The concluding article on the Puravipalayam palace looks at its intricate architecture

The first section of the palace is Mugharathinam, the reception area. This is a two-storeyed, tiled roof structure supported by pillars. This used to be the place where the members of the administration met the people (the picture of which was published in the last article).

Katcheri Ollugapandhal, a passageway, links this structure to the next building, the Katcheri Methai.

A grand legacy

The building is not in great condition but is an interesting one. It would have served the purpose of the Mugharathinam before it was built. This is where music used to be played in the evenings and debates and discussions held.

The ornate first floor, also with a tiled roof, has usable rooms. From here, we walk towards the main part of the palace through another covered passage, the Kal-padi. This marks the entrance to the Kottaram or Durbar hall. Once inside the Kottaram, its sheer grandeur and imposing wood and brick columns strike you. There is a hall in the centre with ascending sections and elaborately carved pillars (six of them massive) on the North and similar smaller sections on the other two sides. This is where ceremonies and religious festivities were held.

PHOTOS: M. PERIASAMY

Zamindar Jagan Mandalathipathi Gopanna Mandradiar and Zamindarani Swarnakanthi Ammal

The main door is a masterpiece, thanks to its sheer size and intricate workmanship that depicts the various Hindu epics.

Animal tales

The taxidermist has had a lot of work in this palace — many hunted animal trophies dot the durbar and the most striking are the large bears holding brass plates that receive visitors. The stuffed tigers housed in glass cases still evoke fear. The area is full of tales of the zamindar's odysseys in the wild. The family tells us there were more such animals, but they perished due to the ravages of time. Sukanya Rani, the youngest daughter of the Zamindar, remembers her father bringing a tiger trophy to her school for her friends to see! Radhakrishnan, the second son-in-law of the Zamindar, who has accompanied him on many hunting trips, recalls the danger and adversities involved in this now-banned sport.

Once you walk into the main doorway from the Kottaram and into the Nal-Kattu, the grandeur disappears and homeliness takes over.

Simply beautiful

This section is simplicity personified. The splatter of raindrops on the open central courtyard is music to the ears. Rooms have been built around the courtyard. The flooring is cement and beautiful pillars support the wooden-beam ceiling.

After this is "Machu", the pooja room. The next section is a larger courtyard with many structures around it. This is even simpler in architecture. Beyond this are the kitchens, the cowsheds and an open ground.

Around this section are the granary, stables, cart and car sheds, and the remains of many more structures.

From the open ground, one notices a white, elegant art-deco building — this "pudhu veedu" used to house a mistress of the zamindar.

FROM ANOTHER ERA Bear hug, the brick and wooden pillars in the Kottaram

On the first floor above the Kottaram is an elegant and imposing colonial structure with high ceiling. It has a large hall and rooms, in one of which weapons were stored, recalls the first grandchild of the Zamindar, Meera Mahesh. The mystic Kodi Swami stayed in the covered area near this section.

Timeless elegance

Words cannot express the Puravipalayam experience. It is regal and mystic and everything in between. And, the responsibility of continuing this heritage rests among others on the youngest grandchild of the Zamindar, Jagan Gopanna Mandradiar. But society also has to do its best to ensure that the relics of our past live on forever.

(E-mail feedback to cbemetro@thehindu.co.in

The Navarathri festivities in the palace during the zamindar's time are still spoken about. During the nine days, the zamindar followed many age-old traditions till his death in the early 80s. This Hindu household was truly secular and involved those from other communities in the running of the palace. Recently, a portion of the Kottaram's roof caved in and the family has rebuilt it.

SHANKAR VANAVARAYAR

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