Above image: Front part of Mangala Vilas building, a non-classified heritage structure on Therkku Raja Veethi. . Entrance to the small open space (court yard or chowk) between East and west wings is occupied by a sanitary stoneware Co. The ground floor has huge large pillared halls. Jharokha on the west wing first floor is barely visible. Abetting the west wing is open space and the entrance to the school (VHS) functioning in the building..............................
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Chhatri atop, Mangala vilas bldg. South Main st.Thaanjavur.
kaminidandapani.typepad.com/ |
Above image: The Mangala Vilas building, Thanjavur. Note the Chhatri on the second floor of the building on either side of the wings facing the street. Chhatri, a decorative dome structure with umbrella shaped roof, is a Hindustani word literally meaning umbrella or elevated dome-shaped pavilion. It is and is found throughout the northwestern region of Rajasthan as well as in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Chhatris have been around us for a long time and their origin goes back as far as 2000 years at Fort Kangara. The jharokhas in the Mangala Vilas building very much similar to the ones in Saarja Madi Aranmanai building on the East Main street, Thanjavur were first introduced by the Marathas in this part of Tamil Nadu. One can see beautiful wooden carvings in
the windows..........................
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| 1869 image Mangala Vilas bldg. South main st. Thanjavur. |
Above images; The two-story Mangala Vilas building, with chhatris and sloping eaves or ‘Chajja’ on the second floor and jharokhas on the first floor (barely visible), is just across the City union bank building; on the left side of the street facing north direction. It was built by the royal family of the Thanjavur Maratha Bhonsle Dynasty. You can see more or less similar chhatris at New Palace (constructed during 1877-1884), Kolhapur of the Bhonsle Chatrapatis, MH; even today, it is the residence of Shreemant Shahu Maharaj. Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara, GJ styled on the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture, built by Maharajah Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1890, Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior MP of the Scindias and Rajwada, Indore, MP of Holkars. - all these palaces have well designed decorative Chhatries and Jharokhas in the facade of the structures. This rare vintage photo was taken way back in 1869 by one Samuel Bourne and this photo was one among the six chosen for an international award and a gold medal for its unique architecture. (this photo appeared in one of the issues of popular Tamil weekly ''Ananda Vikatan'' in the 1980s (details are sketchy). ...................
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Chhatri, with eaves or Chajja Jodhpur, Rajasthan, alamy.com
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| Jharokha and eaves (to drain rain water) vbds.in/blog/ |
Above image: While the ‘Jharokhas’ are used to improve architectural beauty of the front portion and maintain the air flow; the ‘Chajja’ (eaves) the projection around the roof provides protection from both the summer sun and monsoon rain...................
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Chhatris, Lakshmi vilas palace, Baroda GJ istockphoto.com
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| Chhatris, New palace kolhapur flickr.com |
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Chhatri"& curved eaves on New Palace Kolhapur commons.wikimedia.org
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Presently being privately owned by a rich gentleman from
Koothanallur town in Thiruvarur district, many parts of this massive mangala Vilas building with a ground floor and two floors above are in a neglected state. Many portions are damaged and appear to be decrepit, part of the reason is lack of regular upkeep coupled with ignorance of this architecturally rich vintage structure that so far withstood the test of time and vagaries of weather.
The ground floor is built on a higher elevation about 5 to six feet from the street level and, as in many Maratha buildings here, dressed laterite stones (available in plenty near Vallam town ) are widely used for the foundation work. There is a small open yard between two wings and it is occupied by a Sanitaryware company. The 2 foot walls are made of thin well-fired small clay bricks with lime sand mortar mixed with jaggery kakukai (Terminalia chebula), etc. It is a traditional building technique for better bonding. In the interior portion, one could see vestiges of well polished lime plaster specially prepared with well ground lime, egg yolk, etc., to impart unique shine. On the west side, the two floors can be accessed through a wide stairway made of granite steps. All the three floors have huge pillared halls with high ceiling and large windows to keep the interior cool. There are several big rooms with Madras terrace roofing, supported by sturdy rafters made of quality wood. The room on either side of wing in the front is a long one with wooden lattice window that is set on the projected balcony- Jharokhas’ or an overhanging closed balcony in the upper story of the structure. Technically closed by ‘jaalis’ and covered with sloping eaves or ‘Chajja,’Breezeway or ‘Vaay’ that allows passage of a breeze between structures to improve aeration. Large pillared halls or ‘Saal’ where members gather and talk, Chimney or ‘Dhuabari’ in the kitchen space; and Verandah or ‘Baranda to sit and rejuvenate’ are normally eco-friendly design features of Marathas design who mixed the Rajasthani elements with the local design.
The openings in the chhatris on the second floor had sturdy vertical rust-proof cast iron rods for protection along the edge.. They are almost gone and many parts of the structure are not accessible due to poor condition of the building. All along the edge of top terrace in many places there was a row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet. Now, they are almost either damaged or in ruins due to poor periodic maintenance. Besides, severe alternating hot and cold weather had a severe impact on the parapet walls. Many Maratha buildings used to have one and half to two inch diameter pure copper pipes at regular intervals on the upper terrace to drain the rainwater.
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| Stone./concrete balustrade on the terrace. etsy.com |
As mentioned above, a school (Veeraraghava middle School) is being run on the first floor with classes from 6th to 8th standard and it has been functioning since the 1950s This complex with a large open pace is built on a big plot roughly more than one and half acres. A part of its western boundary abets Thoppil Pillaiyar Kovil street connecting South Rampart. This old structure is encroached upon both in the front part of the street and other space on the west side. I have heard a large number of people mention that the city corporation issued a notice to the owner to pull down the building as the condition of the ceiling on the top floor on both wings - east and west is not good due to cracks, growth of vegetation and seepage during rainy season. Details of the history of this classic Maratha Aranmani, are not available. Its history must be much older than 1800.
As to the purpose of this massive solitary 19th century building Mangala Vilas on the empty street in the town, please read the following: Said to have been the residential quarters of the courtesans of the court of Serfoji II prominent among them were Ladu Boi and Bayamma Boi. Founded in 1824 with a rich endowment of money and land, it consisted of many residential quarters for the children born out of wedlock. Ladies lived in one half of the Mangala Vilas -called the Ayan Mahal and the other half in the Huzur Mahal within the palace. All of them received Moin (allowance) when Sivaji was alive and after his death the allowance was not stopped. Their children also were recipients of pensiоп. Though not married the courtesans bore children and wore Tali.( Ref: (பக்கம்:தஞ்சை மராட்டிய மன்னர் கால அரசியலுà®®் சமுதாய வாà®´்க்கையுà®®்.pdf/499ta.wikisource.org/wiki).
Mangala Vilas, a beautiful Maratha style building ought to be saved for the posterity as it is part of the culture of this old town and a legacy of the Royal Maratha Bhonsle Dynasty. Their contribution to Thanjavur town is vast - Ranee's clock tower, vast land donated by the queen where stands the Raja Mirasudar Hospital, Saraswati Mahal library, Schwartz Church near Sivaganga Park, the Maratha king Thuljaji, son of Pratap Singh, gifted 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of agricultural land to the Nagore Dargah (Hazrat Syed Shahul Hameed Dargah), built numerous temples and travellers' inns (Chatram). etc. in many places for the pilgrims on the way to madurai and Rameswaram.
This architecturally unique building in the prime area of the city could be restored and made into a heritage hotel or a center for performing arts, etc. Upon completion of the Smart City Project, it is expected more tourists will visit the big temple- Brihadeeswara temple, the palace complex, etc. The four main streets in the fort area once had mostly Maratha style buildings. Almost all are gone with some exceptions. The Archaeology department should make efforts to save the old structures through renovation and repairs with private participation. The privately owned buildings could be saved and the owners can reuse them as three-star hotels.
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