Its claim to fame over the years is its deformity or incompleteness. Had the ‘Kallana’, or the stone elephant, by the side of the Padmatheertham at East Fort, been a finished sculpture, its majesty as a single-stone granite marvel would probably have found its place inside the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple as an architectural wonder.
No one knows why the figure, which resembles an unfinished elephant from one side and is standing in reverence facing the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, was abandoned on the street.
All that the local people know about the structure is that it has been there for ages, as a mute spectator to the changes that have taken place over the years at the temple.
Its mere presence has evoked some awe, with the structure finding place in the literature of the early 19th century, and it being talked about quite as a ‘guardian of the temple’ by monarchs such as Karthika Thirunal.
Yet, its place as a remnant of the rich cultural history of Thiruvananthapuram has never been in the limelight like the rest of the edifices in the Fort area.
Till recent times, the sculpture was on the ground, with street vendors running their business near it, and wayfarers stopped near it for a break by laying down their luggage on it. There were also many who sought refuge on it, to rest or even to snore away. It bore all signs of being unkempt.
Hearsays are many about the sculpture, with some suggesting the statue must have been unveiled during the reign of Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, who undertook the renovation works of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, designating the stone elephant as the symbolic guardian of the temple and its premises.
A popular story from this period is about a sculptor who was brought from afar for the renovation work. The stone lay on the street on the way to his quarters, and every time he would move to and from his living space, he would hit the stone with a hammer and chisel. Soon, the shape of an elephant began emerging.
Historically, however, the Kallana’s origin is unknown except that it has been at the same spot as now for ages. A novel titled ‘Rama Raja Bahadur’, written in 1918 by C V Raman Pillai, narrates a scene in which a character seeks shelter behind the Kallana to escape from his captors.
Mathilakam Records researcher Uma Maheswari believes the statue must have been installed while laying the foundation of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. “There is no mention of it in the Mathilakam Records, though,” she says.
On a closer look, the statue bears signs of neglect. Some attribute this to the changes in the weather. “The renovation of Padmanabhaswamy Temple stalled at one point in time during conflict,” Uma notes.
“This must have affected the elephant statue as well. Although the temple’s renovation was completed, the elephant’s statue got relegated to the background and remains unfinished.”
Later, the sculpture had begun to slowly sink into the ground, with hawkers and street vendors using it as a place to rest.
Finally, in 2019, at the behest of heritage lovers, a trust of heritage enthusiasts guided by the Archaeology Department constructed a stone platform for the Kallana, part of which had sunk into the soil.
Now, it stands tall, weathering storms, with some people even offering flowers to it in respect. Yet, its origin is a mystery, which probably might need an investigation deeper than a mere search in history books.
A top archaeology department official reveals there has been no investigation from its side to ascertain the period of the structure. Not just this, there have been no major efforts to preserve the structure.
“That is the case with most of the structures inside the Fort area,” says Chandran Pillai, a former archaeology department official who now heads the Keralam Museum project.