KOCHI: Located opposite the Mattancherry Nehru Memorial Town Hall, Ariyittuvazhcha Kovilakom is a small, albeit historically significant, monument used to be the erstwhile Cochin royal family’s coronation palace. ‘Ariyittuvazhcha’ was the ceremony by which princes would be elevated to the throne as the maharaja. Marking the beginning of the ceremony, the heir to the throne and his entourage would lead a procession from the palace in Mattancherry to the Ariyittuvazhcha Kovilakom.
After a ceremonial bath in the nearby pond, the heir would sit on a royal cot with an olakkuda (palm leaf umbrella) as priests performed Vedic rituals. With the crown placed on his lap, the prince would be showered with rice as a blessing – this was known as ariyittuvazhcha (ari means rice in Malayalam).
According to legend, one of the maharajas, Rama Varma (1698-1722), vowed to not don the crown until recapturing Vanneri, which had been usurped by the Zamorin of Calicut. Subsequent maharajas, too, honoured the vow.
Built in the traditional nalukettu style with brick and timbre, the place used to be opened only for the coronation ceremony, the last of which was in 1948, when Pareekshith Thampuran was crowned the Maharaja of Cochin.
Today, the building lies desolate. “The building was used as the village office,” says a local resident and auto-driver Riyas (57). “Later, it was shifted to a new office building near the palace.” In the early ‘90s, there were plans to raze the palace and build a commercial complex. However, thanks to the timely efforts of history buffs and social activists, the archaeology department declared the structure as a protected monument.
“The palace was opened to the public for some time after minor renovation, but was later closed,” says local resident and politician T Jayachandra Menon. “There is some dispute regarding the ownership of the place, between the Devaswom Board and the state.”
The archaeology department has recently set plans in motion to renovate the kovilakam, including the pond used for the coronation ceremony. And the place might be opened to the public soon. Notably, there have been demands to develop the place into a heritage spot.
“The Ariyittuvazhcha Kovilakom has the potential to become a tourist attraction,” notes former mayor K J Sohan, who is the current state convener of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.
“Its historical significance should be highlighted. The coronation ceremony can be recreated. The newly crowned maharajas used to walk through the various settlements in his kingdom and bestow royal gifts upon the subjects. Such details could be delineated on the kovilakom’s walls.”
There & Then
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