Maranat Mana:)- Splendour and Simplcity!

Each trip to the native land ,encompasses us in warm splendour. Each visit intrigues us to know better of the place we were born. We are also letting that to be an eyeopener to our children to make them rich with life's experiences which will take them along way. Only when we move away from our native land do we realize the value of the  experience down south we have,we had and what not,living close to the parents too!

We are always  undecided upto the last moment,this was one of a kind of its trip to the Northern most part of Kerala,,the Malapurram district.

A travel in to the heart of the Malabar region, the famous  Maranat Mana,a 170 year old house managed and maintaned by a family of brothers for generations.

We were just in awe as the car went past their wide compound road.Totally excited on seeing the rich red loamy soil,red hand cut bricks on the boundary walls,lush green colocasias,trailing lush green violet flowered creepers on the walls,the huge old house emerged as if it was from an old vintage era,Mangalore tiled roofs,the inhouse ganesha temple,pretty corridors,the huge granary,the wooden steps,the huge mango tree the nagalingam tree and lush green yellow flowering hibiscus shrubs all over,green moss wherever you could see,..and lots more!

This home is a "pathiraukettu" which meant it had 4 courtyards,and so can we imagine the boisterity of the house,we had a glimpse of their house which even had the nagar kavu(snake temples) in one of their courtyards.I hear this house and surroundings had been in many a regional movies shot in the yesteryears.

It was a  feel,which we could never get elsewhere,living in their century old home, to see them hold strong their  part of the traditions. It was always wonderful to see a family strongly believing what the ancestors believed at a  time, still living and practicing it to the chore.When we struggle to make our children understand the values of our culture and traditions,the Mana stands as a testimonial to the past.This isn't a story of the past,but this is the  present .This visit and stay made for a lovely lesson in why traditions begun in the first place – possibly just to bring people together. Praveen and Vidya were the hosts,as the  stay were arranged by them above the granary which is theirs.

It was an absolute wonderful  experience, of yesterday intertwined with today, of splendour encased in simplicity. It was a lesson in warmth and togetherness in this increasingly isolated world. It was simply beautiful.

a lesson in simplicity

as it rained

a walk in the rains

crowded colocasias

thinking about the simplicties of life

as she sat like a painting

as he cycled 

.

All images courtesy:Lakshmi Arvind

Palaces Of Trivandrum

Being a tourist in ones own place. Last summer vacations, all of us wandered many times into the palace complex beside the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple. It was a way of teaching our children and learning too..not to forget the beautiful past and the remains which we still hold tight in our memories.

The city of Trivandrum is a mix of modern and traditional architecture, which is visible in its Temples and Palaces. The narrow winding lanes of the city allow visitors to take in the ambience of old Kerala through the pagoda-style buildings and red-tiled roofs.Most of the monuments here are very typically native in their construction. 

Trivandrum boasts of a rich historical and traditional background and colorful culture, and thus it houses a number of important historical monuments and places.Trivandrum is said to have modernized under His highness the late  Uthradom Thirunal's rule. The city today is a large, rambling city dispersed across a series of lush forested hills on the edge of the Arabian Sea. It retains a strong vernacular character, with red-tiled roofs and a common local architectural style. 

Standing adjoining the well-known Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple at the East Fort in Trivandrum, Kuthiramalika or Puthenmalika palace was  built by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Balarama Varma - the King of Travancore. He is quite famous as a fine statesman, poet, musician and social reformer. This palace is a great example of very few left specimens of the traditional Travancore style of architecture where exquisite wood is also used. Now transformed into a museum, it consists  of paintings and various other priceless collections of the royal family.Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Balarama Varma built the Kuthiramalika Palace over 200 years ago. The name Kuthiramalika means 'palace of horses' and is derived from the frieze of 122 wooden horses on the exterior walls.

Kuthiramalika Palace was constructed with teak, rosewood, granite and marble. Elaborate carvings within the palace include two thrones - one is made entirely from elephant tusks and the other from Bohemian crystal. Kuthiramalika Palace houses the Maharaja's music room where visitors have a good view of the temple, which was a source of inspiration for the ruler. Other rooms offered on the tour include other music halls, reading rooms, and a library.Noted for the Keralan architecture, the palace took 5,000 workers over 4 years to complete. The interior of Kuthiramalika features European mirrors and chandeliers, weapons, crystal, Kathakali idols, elephant howdahs and other memorabilia.

Sree Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma Chithralayam  has been set up at Ranga Vilasam Palace to provide the public with an authentic perspective on the glorious past of  Travancore.

Conceived by His Highness Sree Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja, the museum’s collection includes (besides valuable articles possessed by the Royalty) rare photographs taken by His Highness, himself  a connoisseur of photography, and other ace photographers like William D’Cruz etc are  set in traditional royal ambience. 

Kuthiramalika Palace

a moment to be frozen..the feet and snails

Levi hall in the palace complex

flower type works on the roof with wood

a couple of old residences in the palace complex

A view of the back of the gallery

art gallery

Levi hall

H.H.Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma chitralayam

roof and walls in wood in the residence complex

All images  and Ideas:Lakshmi Arvind Text courtesy:Tourism.org

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Coconut Lagoon,Kumarakom,Kerala

History in Liquid Reflections says it in one word about Coconut Lagoon..an island type of resort in the district of Kuttanad.

Seemed  like we entered a feudal village of Malabar.The vast frolic of the vembanad lake and the intermittent canals within the property.The house boats,that move at its languid pace provide the flavour for the season..the monsoon that was with us there intermittently..

Together it celebrated the life and nature and its beauty in every sense and took us to a world in its simplicity..utter simplicity

History of Reflections..

amazing serenity 

the languid pace of life

there is always tea for the tea lovers

pieces of history

monsoon at its peak

floating reflections/flowers

all in the details

loving the interiors

lamps and canals

details are beautiful

180 degree view

windows and mornings

 umbrellas in pots ..nice idea

house come at its own pace..we stayed near the river

upside down view

details mind blowing

reflections

red umbrellas and monsoon

lamps and bokeh

floating sunshine

coconuts and kerala

in line...the chairs

Images and Ideas: Lakshmi Arvind
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