it a woonden architure

3. This is the largest wooden palace in
India.There is a greater wooden palace
complex in Padmanabhapuram, in the
opposite direction of Mudabidri, a little
south of the state of Kerala. This town,
meaning ‘a city born from a lotus flower,’
was the old capital of the princely state of
Travancore. Here the wooden palaces
reconstructed by King Marthanda Varma
in the 18th century remain intact.

4.  When entering a forecourt
through the main gate for a
start, one would be taken
aback by the appearance of
the compound, looking just
like Japanese architecture:
most of the buildings lying
ahead are made of plain
wood of teak and crowned
with tiled gambrel roofs
(gabled hipped roofs). The
building with two audience
halls of the Mantrashala and
Poomukham stacked one on
the other are especially worth
seeing. The wooden carvings
within its gable have quite
different patterns from those
of temples.

5. THE PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE CONSISTS OF SEVERAL
STRUCTURES WHICH ARE AS FOLLOWS:
 MANTRASALA : THE KINGS COUNCIL
CHAMBER
 THAI KOTTARAM
 NATAKSALA : THE PERFORMANCE HALL
 FOUR STOREY MANSION AT THE
CENTRE OF THE COMPLEX
 THEKE KOTTARAM

6.  The interior of the Poomukham
plainly shows its principal
structural system: four freestanding
columns support four beams
demarcating a square coffered
ceiling, on which rafters lean to the
peripheral girders.
 Its roof extends long and low over
the windows in order to block the
tropical sunlight and its walls are
latticed to let a breeze blow
through the hall.
A rear palace for the King’s mother
called Thaikottaram has a
freestanding pillar with particularly
delicate wooden carvings in its
hall, and the King’s palace called
Uppirika Malika preserves many
wall paintings from the 17th to 18th
centuries in good condition.

8.  The four-storeyed building is located at
the centre of the palace complex. The
ground floor houses the royal treasury.
The first floor houses the King's
bedrooms. The ornamental bedstead is
made of 64 types of herbal and
medicinal woods, and was a gift from
the Dutch merchants.
 Most of the rooms here and in other
parts of the palace complex have built-in
recesses in walls for storing weapons
.The second floor houses the King's
resting and study rooms. Here the King
used to spend time during fasting days.
 The top floor served as
the worship chamber of the royal
household. Its walls are covered with
exquisite 18th century murals,depicting
scenes from the puranas, and also few
scenes from the social life of the
Travancore of that time. The top floor
was supposed to be Sree Padmanabha
Swamy's room.

9.  The southern palace is as old as the ‘Thai kottaram’
(Mother's palace), which would make it about 400
years old. Now, it serves as a heritage museum,
exhibiting antique household articles and curios.
Collections of items give an insight into the social and
cultural ethos of that period.

10.  As shown in the plan this
palace consists of numbers of
comparatively small buildings
with courtyards and gardens.
However, there are no axes
here that penetrate the entire
compound, nor geometrical
Chahar-Baghs (four quartered
gardens) as in Mughal palaces,
nor a Mandala-like composition
in the site-plan.
Partly because of the process
of subsequental ad hoc
construction, what this palace
complex pursued architecturally
was not a display of
monumental appearance, but
comfort as living spaces, which
reminds us of the Topkapi
Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.

11. The walls are usually made in laterite or brick & plastered over with lime. There are non-
structural wooden screens called jaalis, which have the function of allowing in light &
ventilation while ensuring the privacy of the person inside. The filtered light creates a
dramatic play of light & shadow in the interiors and ensures a very cool & comfortable
ambience inside, away from the blazing sun. The shaded interiors are cool, which is a direct
derivative of the climatological need to counter the warm humid tropical climate. Indeed,
one of the most significant aspects of the design is the sensitive handling of the light &
shadows to create a wholesome comfortable ambience inside, one that focuses inside,
calming, soothing & contemplating.