THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Travancore - The Footprints of Destiny’, the memoirs of Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, will be released by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on January 5.
Addressing a news conference here, Marthanda Varma, the head of the Travancore Royal family, said the book is a fine blend of historiography and autobiography covering the early history of Venad and Travancore. The book release will be held at 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday at Sree Vaikuntam Kalyana Mandapam here.
``I had witnessed from close quarters the reign of my brother Sree Chithira Thirunal, the transition of power and the post-Independence era. When India became free, Travancore was a progressive and well-developed princely state and it stood ahead of the other princely states in the country’’, he said.
Major events in the state like the accession to the Indian Union, the Temple Entry Proclamation and landmark administrative decisions that had a lasting impact on the course of future developments in the state are also mentioned in the book, supported by photographs of archival relevance. Many of those photographs were taken by Marthanda Varma himself.
The book also takes us through the traditions, rituals and practices of the Travancore royals, who are known for their intense worshipful reverence for Lord Ananthapadmanabha. The book, published by Konark Publishers, New Delhi, is priced at Rs 2,000. It will be available at a discount rate of Rs 1,200 on the day of release.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com