Experiences and Thoughts: India 2015 - Thirumal Nayak's Palace Part 1

King Thirumal Nayak's Palace located on South Car street in Srivilliputtur is a hidden gem. It is a perfect example of how a building from 1600s underwent transition from a king's temporary residence to a functioning court house until 2007. It was renovated and is now open for public as a protected monument by the Archeological Society of India. Here is the first part of a series about this palace and the King himself.

The palace as seen across the street. You can climb up a small house across the building to see the domes. There is a limit on the height of buildings in the vicinity. No one seems to care to follow this limit but most importantly there is no enforcement of this limit.

The palace as seen across the street. The verandah in the front was added later.

The palace from an angle. The Andal temple is to the left of this picture.

The palace was used by the king when he visited the deity in the nearby Andal temple. This palace is quite moderate compared to his palace in Madurai. It covers approximately 15,000 sq. ft.

Palace layout

Palace layout that shows to the chambers at the back while there is a large open entrance in the front.

As you enter, you are greeted by these majestic pillars and arches.

The entrance. The logs in between the column of pillars of were added later to support the building.

The palace has two large chambers; one for the king and one for his audience. The audience chamber has a vaulted roof and is supported by 10 pillars and arches.

The larger chamber was used to receive audience.

The residential chamber is an octagonal structure supported by 8 arches.

The smaller chamber was used by the king. A replica of a stupa (in Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai?) is placed in the centre of the chamber.

The palace was used a court at least since 1870 by the British and then by the Indian government after independence. The British modifications are very easy to spot:

The vaulted ceiling in the larger chamber that this inscribed to commemorate the reign of Queen Victoria, the Empress of India at the time.

Srivilliputtur also lost its sons for the distant great war in Europe. I imagine volunteers from here signed up mostly for the pay rather than out of patriotic duty.