Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal
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Thirumalai Nayak Palace is a 17th century palace was built by King Thirumalai Nayak, one of the Madurai Nayak rulers in 1636 AD in the city of Madurai, India. This Palace was built with the help of an Italian Architect and is a classic fusion of Dravidian, Islamic and European styles. The building, which can be seen today, was the main Palace where the king lived. The original Palace Complex was four times bigger than the present structure.In its heyday, Tirumalai Nayak's Palace at Madurai was considered to be one of the wonders of the South.
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[edit] Location
The palace is located in the city of Madurai, in Tamil Nadu state of India. The palace is situated 2 km south east of the Meenakshi Amman Temple.
[edit] History
The Nayaks of Madurai ruled this former Kingdom from 1545 till 1740’s and Thirumalai Nayak(1623-1659) was one of their greatest kings that line notable for various buildings in and around Madurai.During the 17th centuries the Madurai Kingdom had Portuguese, Dutch and other Europeans as traders, missionaries and visiting travelers. Tirumala Nayak is believed to have recruited the services of an Italian architect, (apparently one of the many unknown European adventurers who swarmed these regions before the advent of British) for the construction of his Palace.
[edit] Design and Construction
Built in 1636, as a focal point of his capital at Madurai, Thirumalai Nayak intended the palace to be one of the grandest in South India. The design and architecture is a blend of Dravidian, Islamic and European styles. It is the Interior of the Palace surpasses many of its Indian contemporaries in style and details while the exterior is minimalistic in details.
[edit] Courtyard
Upon entering into the gates of the palace, the visitor enters into present day’s huge central courtyard measuring 3,700 sq.m (41,979 sq.feet).The Courtyard is surrounded by massive circular pillars. Now it has a circular garden
[edit] Exterior
Externally, the palace measures around 450 feet by 250 feet and consists of a spacious interior quadrangle measuring 252 feet by 150 feet with columned aisles on three of its sides and the great Durbar Hall and Throne Room on its remaining side. Added to this in the northern direction is another noble hall which is 140 feet long by 70 feet wide. High walls running 300 m from the east to the west, 200 m from the north to the south and 12 m high enclosed the complex. These walls are called the Pari Madil and are said to have survived till a hundred years ago. The main palace has a rectangular courtyard flanked by tall arcades, each of which has a distinct carving. The original entrance was from the north but now a different entry is used which was repaired in the last century.
There were two prominent two on the eastern side of the arcade in the Quadrangle, and the turret over the N.E. corner of the elevated arcade. The terrace is said to have been erected to give the ladies of the palace an opportunity of witnessing the processions from the Temple to the Teppakulam on the Ramnad road.
[edit] Interior
The palace was divided into two major parts, namely Swarga Vilasam (Celestial Pavilion) and Ranga Vilasam. The royal residence, theatre, shrine, apartments, armory, palanquin place, royal bandstand, quarters, pond and garden were situated in these two portions. The courtyard and the dancing hall are the major center of attractions of the palace. The Celestial Pavilion (Swarga Vilasam) was used as the throne-room and has an arcaded octagon covered by a dome 60-70 feet high. The pointed ceiling or dome in the centre is supported by stone ribs is held up by massive circular columns topped by piers and linked by pointed scalloped arches, with an arcaded gallery opening into the nave above the side aisles.
[edit] Materials
The structure was constructed using foliated brickwork and the surface details and finish in exquisite stucco called chunnam using chunnam (shell lime) and (Mixed with egg white) to obtain a smooth and glossy texture. The steps leading up to the hall were formerly flanked by two equestrian statues of excellent workmanship.
The pillars supporting the arches are 13m tall and are again joined by foliated brickwork that carries a valance and an entablature rising up to a height of 20 m. The decoration is done, (shell lime). The pavilions topped with finials that were covered with gold are on either side of the courtyard.
[edit] During Nayak Rule
[edit] Part demolition
The grandson of the king Thirumalai Nayak, Chokkanatha Nayak shortly after ascending the throne in 1662 transferred the Capital to Trichrapalli.The new king thought nothing of but, demolishing large portions of the palace and carting off the precious jewels and woodcarvings so that he could use it to build another palace for himself inside the Trichrapalli fort. The move led to the dismantling of large parts of the palace and this courtyard, along with the entrance gate, main hall and dance hall, are the only parts of the palace that are left extant from the original structure.
[edit] Under British Rule
Initially the British used the palace as barracks disastrously storing Ammunitions and artillery. An early 18th century paintings depicts this palace and the hall was in a state of disrepair and at the artists visiting the palace deplored that it '...is at present of little more use than affording shelter to cattle'...
[edit] Lord Napier
Lord Napier, in his role as governor of Madras allocated half a Million Rupees in 1858. The hall was later used by the British as government offices and law courts, and fully restored in 1871-82. Yet the palace standing today, while still impressive, is only a fraction of what was once found at the site.
[edit] Present day
After independence, the Thirumalai Palace was declared as a national monument and is now under the protection of the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department. The time for the visit to the palace is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the payment of the entrance fee.
[edit] Light & Sound shows
The palace is well equipped to perform Light & Sound shows depicting the story of Silappathikaram in both Tamil and English (6:45 p.m.) languages. The show is for half an hour glorifying the merits of the King Thirumalai Nayak emphasizing particularly on his passion for arts, his victories in battle and his love for his subjects. An entrance fee of Rs.10 per adult and Rs.5 for a child below twelve years, for natives and domestic tourists, and Rs.50 per adult and Rs.25 per child will be levied for foreigners.
[edit] Conservation
For the 1972 Tamil Conference that was held in Madurai, the state government undertook a major renovation. Recent facelift was in 2005-2006, when it was closed temporarily for renovation.It now sports a new look, as it has been given a facelift on an outlay of Rs. one crore (Rs 10 Million)provided from the Eleventh Finance Commission, recently.
[edit] Getting There
The Palace is located in the eastern side of the city, around 1.2 Kms South East of the Meenakshi Amman Temple in the city of Madurai. Madurai being a popular tourist center is well connected by railways and has daily flights to Mumbai and Chennai.
[edit] In Movies
The palace is a favourite spot for several movies shootings. The Palace has appeared in numerous song scenes of Tamil movies and the famous Bollywood movies being the Bombay (film)Bombay and Guru.
[edit] Further Sources
- Thirumalai Nayak Palace, Madurai
- The Hindu article - Down the corridors of time
- The Hindu article - The Royal patrons of architecture
