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| Kavalappara palace, Shornur, Kerala timesofindia.indiatimes.com |
Above image: Kavalappara palace, Shornur,Palakkad District, Kerala. Once an amazing palace built in an 8 acre land, now it has become a dilapidated place where poisonous snakes and other unwanted critters roost. Reason: Long-drawn legal battle (since the 1960s) over the ownership of this palace and other properties. Caught in the litigation are 10,000-odd records of Kavalappara Swaroopam owned by one of erstwhile landlords of Malabar. They are also facing slow destruction. The palace still remains a fine piece of architecture of Kerala style. ................................
That the historic Kavalapara Palace, Shoranur in the state of Kerala, once a glorious palace known for a fine piece of Kerala style architecture was turned in a mound of rubble and dust is a sad story and the heritage enthusiasts of this state were sore over the loss of another heritage site due to utter negligence and lack of periodic repairs. A major portion of Malikachuvadu, one among the remaining structures in the eight-acre complex, caved in during heavy summer downpour that lashed Shoranur in April, 2017. In 1980 the main palace was demolished.
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| Kavalappara palace, Shornur (Palakkad Dt.) cumaps.net |
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| Kavalappara palace, Shornur (Palakkad Dt.) thehinduimages.com |
Above image: Kavalappara palace, Shornur (Palakkad Dt.) Note the wild growth of bushes. Moving through the dense thicket to access the palace is not an easy task. Hidden deep in the wild growth of grass may be a serpent den or pit.
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| Damaged Kavalappara palace, Palakkad Dt. Kerala |
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| Kavalappara palace, Shoranur, Kerala markazhi.com |
The remaining part of the structure is slowly decaying on account of prolonged court litigation in the civil court of Palakkad district among the family members over the ownership. In a situation like this, the site being in a legal wrangle, no conservation efforts are possible unless the disputing parties make a compromise in order to save the remaining structures. The site is under receiver administration appointed by the court and it has no legal power to get the restoration work started. Except Agrasala, the rest were pulled down for good. This place with chequered history of over 400 plus years now stands abandoned.
In the absence of interest among the litigants, intervention from the government or any other civil authority, the site has been in a state of ruin in the midst of wild growth of plants and bushes. The palace once symbolic of opulence and and grandeur of the ruling land lord of the Nair family has lost every thing their forefathers stood for centuries down the line.
What is quite shocking is over 10,000 rare historical records (of Kavalappara Swaroopam -- a confederation of 96 desams) of the ancient ruling Mooppil Nair landlord family, who owned the palace and big chunks of land under Valluvanad and erstwhile Cochin state, are also facing slow decay. It is on record that the Nair family owned / rather ruled over 31.079 sq.km of land of different terrains around present Shoranur. This big swathe of fertile land was granted to the family by the legendary ruler of Malabar- Cheraman Peumal. The nair family administered the vast lands with managers for a long period.
Prolonged legal dispute since the 1960s among the descendants of the Kavalapara Mooppil Nair family Mooppil Nair family, absence of reconciliation on their parts coupled with properties in question under court receiver's care have pushed this once a glorious structure into a pathetic state of damages and destruction imparting the look of a haunted place. Chaos descended on the family upon the death of the head of the family, Karakkat Kumaran Raman Kochunni Mooppil Nair, over the control of the properties among the successors. Since 1967 the legacy of the popular Nair family has been at stake. Greed among the litigants took precedence over the legacy of the popular family.
Demands by the locals and others to save the palace and the priceless records fell on the deaf ears of the government officials. In 2007 the govt of Kerala deputed an official from the archives department from Kozhikode office. Though the official reported the pathetic condition of the estate, matter. no action was taken after that. As of today the same situation continues. No steps were taken either to save the heritage site or preserve the historical record in thousands. Now they are turned into fodder for the moths roaming around there.
“It is high time the Archaeological Department intervened to convince the courts about the need to protect the palace. Any lapse will destroy a vast pool of resources throwing light on the medieval history of Kerala,” said Prasad K. Shornur, a local social worker.
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| Kavalappara palace, Shoranur, Kerala flicker.com |
The biggest festival in Malabar used to take place at Arayankaavu temple of Shoranur that was owned by Mooppil Nair family. Still the festival is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Meenam . people say the festival has lost its glitter and pomp owing to the decline of the the popular Nair family in the aftermath of introduction of land reforms by the communist government. Now 96 villages once part of the erstwhile Kavalappara Swaroopam family participate in the annual festival. It shows that how the Nair family is still being held with great esteem and respect by the people despite the drastic change of political scenario over the decades. Further it is a clear indication that the cultural ethos of the Nair family has stood the test of time, not withstanding their decline in power and wealth.
Tit-bits:
The Kavalappara, an aristocratic Indian Nair family was a popular landed nobility in medieval Kerala, the memebers were dedicated to the t service of the rajas of the area, first that of Palghat and then later that of Cochin. Based at Kavalappara Desam in Karakkat, Valluvanada, their holdings extended to areas such as Kailiad and Panayur.
https://dailyhashtags.in/keralas-historic-kavalapara-palace-being-reduced-to-rubble/
