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| Cheena Kottaram palace, Kollam keralaspotshere.blogspot.com |
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| Cheena Kottaram palace, Kollam keralaspotshere.blogspot.com |
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| Cheena Kottaram palace, Kollammathrubhumi.com |
Cheena Kottaram (China palace), a Rest House adjacent to Kollam railway station built by Maharajah of Travancore Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma (1885-1924) is an example of a mixed architecture - blend of Indo-Saracenic style with elements of Moorish design. Why is it called Cheena Kottaram? The red-brick miniature rail palace palace looks very much similar to traditional Chinese buildings. Kollam had a flourishing seaport and was a commercial hub next to Kochi. The city has many palaces built by the royal families and aristocratic people.
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| Location map Kollam, Kerala. indiamap.com |
A single story structure with no first floor, it has 7 rooms with a veranda on the front and back, the varanda facing the Kollam traffic bridge is closed. On the north side there is a single exit and entry point close to the railway platform. The Maharajah accompanied by his attendants used to board his custom-made saloon car parked on the side track and it would be attached to the Madras bound train. Many maharajahs had this kind of facility and a separate custom made saloon car (bogie) with amenities for their attendants for their train travel.
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| Baroda Maharajah's luxury coach, Baroda, India nrmindia.com |
Above image: Maharajah Khaderao Gaekwad, the then ruler of the Princely state of Baroda had a private saloon in his royal railway coach and it was the talk of the town then. The broad gauge customized coach built in 1886 had two sections, one for the royal members and the other for the attendants with mini kitchen. The ruler had a permanent shed built near the railway station close to the platform .(https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2020/12/baroda-maharajahs-specially-designed.html) ........................
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| .Maharajah Mulum Thirunal Rama Verma, Kerala wikidata.org |
Maharajah Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma used to come here to board the train for Madras, then the capital of Madras Presidency. The meter gauge train track came up between Kollam/Punalur to Senkottah in 1904 connecting Madras city. Later railroad extending up to Thiruvananthapuram was laid. The Palace was more or less completed coinciding with the commissioning of Kollam -Shenkottah branch line.
At Kollam station Maharajah had the rest house on purpose built close to the railway platform for rest and to access the train easily. In the rest house he had facilities for servants, personal assistants, and others who would travel with him. They would prepare food, make bed, etc., for the royal members.
From a distance the Rest House looks like a two-story building, but it has just only one floor. It had flooring laid with venetian tiles, fine gothic arches in the central hall and stained glass windows. The gently slanting tiled roof is supported by fine wooden frame with carvings. Also included is the emblem of Travancore Princely state - granite conch on the walls.
With the ruler stopped visiting this place for rest and to board the train, Cheena Kottaram fell into disuse. In the later years after independence , it served as the office of Madurai Division of Southern Railway. On account of habitual official apathy, total negligence and lack of periodic repair, this historic building had begun to disintegrate and lose its value and glory. It became a sort of neglected site. and remained uncared for. Subsequently some repairs and alterations were made by the railway, but they were not in sync with the original architecture of past era. The original design was devoid of wooden false ceiling in the central hall. In the olden days, it is mentioned that one could see the top roof and sun light filtering through the stained and translucent glasses above the the gothic arches creating colorful gentle illumination which was impressive to look at. The original tiles on the roof were replaced with ordinary tiles., a gross architectural blunder.
Quite deplorable is the loss of some heritage value of this structure on account of haphazard repair work done by the railway contractors. The building's verandas with with lattice windows and fine wood work were used as store rooms. There is an urgent need to declare this place as a protected National Heritage Monument. This accreditation will help the city a lot and also will bring in lots of travelers. It is mentioned that Indian railways has included the Cheena Kottaram in its list of heritage structures to be conserved for posterity. The Kollam city Corporation had a proposal to renovate the building and landscape the surrounding areas and it allotted Rs. 40 lakhs for renovation and conservation.
The 100 plus year old resting place of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, Cheena kottaram, is often called ‘Rail Palace’. It is at the ,Cheenakada end of Kollam Railway Station, Considering its proximity often it was mistaken for a warehouse by the travelers.
https://pazhayathu.blogspot.com/2010/11/his-highness-maharajah-of-travancore.html
http://profkurakar.blogspot.com/2014/10/cheena-kottaram-kollam.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanandk_2009/26385454703
http://keralaspotshere.blogspot.com
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