The Kanakakunnu Palace in Trivandrum was once the venue for stately events of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore
Listed by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage as a heritage monument, the Kanakakunnu Palace in Trivandrum today is motley of history and ecology.
The palace, constructed during the reign of King Sree Mulam Tirunal (1885-1924), was used for royal banquets. Swati Tirunal gave a complete makeover of the palace, and even built a tennis court on its premises.
Opened first to public view in the 1960s as a venue for marriages, the splendid edifice, the jewel on the ridge of a hillock laden with landscaped green meadows, bamboo thickets and blossoming shrubs have become a favourite among the locals and tourists. There are many events that are conducted here in its stately halls.
Members of walking & laughing clubs, yoga practitioners, in addition to college students, nature lovers and senior citizens hang out in large numbers. The rare trees here are another attraction.
This place is also used to hold government-sponsored events and other cultural events. But the increasing number of commercial activities in and around the building has posed several challenges to the Tourism Department which takes care of it.
The locals are opposed to the idea of using this place for trade fairs and exhibitions, considering the significance of its cultural, historical and architectural values.
The significance of the Kanakakunnu Palace is also felt in its role in micro-climate amelioration and regulation and curbing emission of greenhouses gases, as a lush green, open space in the busiest part of the city.
The meadows in the hill terrain if properly maintained can turn out to be a natural herbal peak with Dasapushpam’s and other precious flora, making it a nature’s herb museum, and for people to just relax and walk, and kids to play on the premises.
Locals also suggest that it should be made a heritage zone, and that a nominal entry fee can be collected for maintaining the park sublimely green.
