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Maria Louis learns how a 400-year-old mansion that once belonged to the Maharaja of Cochin became an exclusive homestay resort.
Overlooking the serene backwaters of Chittoorpuzha from where it gets its name, is a 400-year-old semi-colonial structure with a small outhouse. Just 6km away from Ernakulam city, it makes a peaceful retreat from the stress of urban life and has been attracting guests who want to get away from it all.
Since it was built as the summer palace of the Maharaja of Cochin, to accommodate His Royal Highness for only short spells of time, the elegant bungalow had just four large rooms flanked by spacious semi-open verandahs.
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After years of use, and misuse, the palace was slowly surrendering to age – until the charming ‘prince’ Suresh Namboothiri rescued it. His wife Jayasree Varma, who hails from the royal family, inherited it from her mother; and it will eventually become the legacy of their daughter, since theirs is a matrilineal society.
Sensing the promise of the place, Namboothiri decided to give up his career as a chartered accountant and
invest time and money in transforming this royal retreat into a heritage home for guests who could afford the luxury
of living like a king.
His idea began to take shape when he brought architectural firm, Inspiration, into the picture. “A person with infectious enthusiasm and cheer, Suresh was clear about what he wanted,” commented Latha Raman Jaigopal, co-founder and director – project implementation – of Inspiration.
“His dream was to restore the old-world charm of the palace in order to bring in exclusive guests who could enjoy being the raja, rani, princess or prince, at least for a few days of their holiday,” she continued.
The task was not an easy one, as the once rich woodwork had acquired several coats of paint and patchwork after years of use by different owners.
“Though it was still reasonably stable, the structure had several members eaten by termites, the roof tiles were broken and dampness had affected many of the walls,” recalled Latha.
“The walls of laterite in mud mortar finished with lime plaster had also been coated with several layers of white cement, lime wash and paint.”
Having already completed over 20 renovation and adaptive reuse projects, Inspiration was well equipped with the knowhow and methodology required to tackle the job.
The first thing they did was to document the existing structure – a laborious exercise that called for measured drawings of every detail of the building. It also meant a complete photo documentation of the place, with a listing of specifications for each part of the building, its exteriors and interiors.
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FEATURED COMMENT
I think i know this place as we (lot of kids) at that time studied in a school and I guess this building was part of the