Getting down from Tandiandamol Peak, very close to it was my next destination – Nalknad Palace. This was built by Doddaveerarajendra in 1792. He was a Kodagu king belonging to the Haleri reign. Chikkaveerarajendra was the last king of this dynasty who ruled in 1834. Unfortunately by his time the power of British Raj had become so strong that he had to surrender. This palace served as the last refuge to him before he gave up.
I reached the temple by exactly 1:20 PM. There was little chit on the door that had a phone number and said that 1 to 1:30 is the lunch hour. So I waited there at the entrance for 10mins and sharp in 10mins, the gentleman, its caretaker turned up. By this time there were 2 more groups of visitors and we were about 10 of us. I thought the caretaker is just a guy who has the key but I was amazed when he started taking us on a guided tour throughout the palace. He’s well versed with the history of the palace.
Though it is called a Palace, it looks so extremely simple. The terracotta tiled roof atop wooden frame, wooden structure and carvings and pillars and much more importantly its Murals, very much reminded me of Kerala buildings, once again reminding me that I’m in the Kerala and Karnataka border. I must say I was reminded of Kuthira Malika close to Padmanabhapuram Palace!
Past its wooden doors, soon as I entered, to my right was this small mandapa that was not even in sync with the rest of the Palace. I learnt that it was built later by Chikkaveerarajendra for his sister’s wedding. To the left were a garden and a high street lamp that was solar powered!
Further ahead was the entrance to the actual building. But before you enter, it is impossible to miss the gorgeous mural on the varandah to the left. It is of a procession. I’m not sure what it depicts exactly but I was told that in the Kodagu history, men had to defeat other men, chop the head off and bring it to the lady in order to win her! The mural did depict some men holding spears on which there were some heads!!! These old murals were painted 223 years ago when the Palace was built.
The pillars of this varandah itself are such thing of beauty. But more gorgeous are the carvings here. In the corbel of one of the pillars was this complicated kolam-style twisted Cobra! A spectacled Cobra (Naja naja) is a regular in this area and is a symbol of power that induces fear!
The small door on the side leads to the private section of the King & Queen incl their bed chamber, bathrooms etc. At the end of the passage on the ground, completely merged as one with the wooden flooring was a secret door!!! A room close to the end of this staircase is the dark room. The guide asked us to switch off the light from our cell phones and shut the door and soon that was pitch dark, so dark that nothing at all was visible. I got the exactly same feeling as I did in Chislehurst dark room. There is one more room in the palace like this. At any given point of time, these rooms were pitch dark even if the sun is shining mightily outside. These were the hiding dungeons when they had to escape!!!
There are a couple more rooms in the ground floor. One of the rooms is for the Palace Guards located behind a wall that exactly faces the door. This wall has 3 jaali windows. The Palace guards could kill any enemy entering in without coming out of their hideout!!!
The entire place is painted, the ceilings, walls, everything in both ground floor and first floor, even the walls of the royal toilets!!! But sadly, very sadly, the painting that we see today belongs to the recent years (less than 50 years old). All these surfaces were originally painted when it was built in 1792. Today these original paintings are being restored bit by bit, removing the current plaster layer, under INTACH. Hoping to see it in its restored, original glory soon...
P.S: In the Virajpet Town is this clock! It is more than a 100 years old. It was erected by M.R.Ry Mukkatira Iyappah son of M.R.Ry Muttanna Subedar of Devanagiri Village in 1911 in the memory of Delhi Coronation Durbar that happened under King George V when India was under British Raj.
P.S: In the Virajpet Town is this clock! It is more than a 100 years old. It was erected by M.R.Ry Mukkatira Iyappah son of M.R.Ry Muttanna Subedar of Devanagiri Village in 1911 in the memory of Delhi Coronation Durbar that happened under King George V when India was under British Raj.
To Get There:
On Google Maps: Nalknad Palace
From Tadiandamol Peak: 5.6km
From Magnolia Resort, Coorg: 33km
From Coorg Madikere Bus Stand: 35km