FIELD VISIT (SEMESTER 2)
The department of English, Hindi, Tamil, Social Science and Sanskrit decided to go to Neyyar Dam, Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre and Koyikal palace. Jayakrishna teacher of Hindi department, Kumar sir of Tamil department and Shaiba teacher of Sanskrit department and Santhosh sir of social science department accompanied us.
OBJECTIVES OF FIELD TRIP
1. To develop a knowledge about rich heritage and history.
2. To develop self confidence in students.
3. To provide unique opportunities for learning.
4. To devlop co-operation among students.
5. To provide a platform for team work.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE SPOT
Neyyar Dam, Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre and Koyikal palace in Thiruvananthapuram are the places selected for our educational purpose.
1. Neyyar Dam
Neyyar dam is a gravity dam on the Neyyar River in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, South India, located on the foot of the Western Ghats about 30 km from Thiruvananthapuram.It was established in 1958 and is a popular picnic spot. Lying against the southern low hills of the Western Ghats, Neyyar Dam has a scenic lake.
Neyyar dam is situated at Kallikkad Panchayath of Kattakkada Taluk of Trivandrum district. The peak Agasthya kooodam is very near to Neyyar dam. The dam was built in the land given by an agriculturist known as Karuvachiyil Krishan Panicker, Father of Janaki Thankamma, Maruthummoottil family, and his other family members for irrigation purposes. One canal of Neyyar flows to western districts of Tamil Nadu. The main river Neyyar flows through Kallikkadu, Ottasekharamangalam, Aryancode, Kezharoor, Perumkadavila, Marayamuttom, Neyyattinkara and Poovar and ends at the Arabian Sea.
2. Kottor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre
The Kottur elephant rehabilitation centre is located near Kappukadu in Thiruvananthapuram district. It is a safe haven for the Asiatic elephant. Elephants are considered the most auspicious animals in Kerala and are present at almost all major occasions and festivals. The rehabilitation centre lies on a 56 hectare large campus which nurtures old and young elephants. Over 30 elephants can be treated here at a given time. The best time to visit is between 08.00 am and 10.00 am when the elephants are being bathed and fed. They are given cooked rice and jaggery in large round mounds. It is an exquisite sight, watching the mahouts feeding these magnificent beasts. Elephant rides are available at these sites.
3. Koyikkal Palace
The Koyikkal palace situated at Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram district was the palace built for Umayamma Rani of the Venad royal family between 1677 and 1684. Today the palace houses a Folklore museum and a Numismatics museum set up by the State Archaeological Department. Its unique antique collection provides one with a valuable insight into the past of Kerala. Koyikkal Palace, the seat of the Perakathavazhy Swaroopam, a collateral branch of Venad is a living symbol of the extravagance of traditional architecture which prevailed in Kerala during the Seventeenth century. This old palace is a traditionally built double storeyed Nalukettu with a gabled roof, ornate pillars, long corridors in which wood is used in lavish scale for its entire construction.
This two storeyed royal residence symbolizes the stylistic perfection of medieval architecture of South Kerala and regarded as the most ancient palace built by the rulers of Venad. Like other palaces of Travancore, there used stone pipes for the underground drainage system to let out water from the Nadumuttam, the courtyard at the centre.
The Nadumuttam is paved with granite. There are beautifully carved granite pillars in the four sides of the veranda around the nadumuttam. There is a nilavara or strong room in one of the rooms on the ground floor of the palace, which is said to be connected with an underground passage to another palace at Karupur. But there is no archaeological evidence to prove this story. The palace is almost like a square. One of the rooms near the entrance of the palace was used as a puja room where a traditional deity known as Mallan Thampurana had been worshipped. Like many other palaces of the rulers of Venad this palace also has a temple attached to it, the entrance to which is blocked from the palace side. A small pond is still preserved in the Palace compound. All auxiliary structures which are essential to a palace-like padippura, kitchen, oottupura, urappura, kulappura etc. are completely lost. The old type well in the palace compound is still in use. There is a wide gabled balcony on the first floor of the palace facing the east. The entrance to the palace is from the east through a narrow and simple gabled opening. A veranda enclosed with wooden railing is kept in all the four sides of the palace in the ground and first floor which control the air circulation inside the palace. There are no windows in the rooms. The thick walls are constructed with laterite blocks and plastered with lime mortars.
When the Department of Archaeology took over the palace in 1979 from the Travancore Devaswam Board as they decided to auction the palace for dismantling, it was in a dilapidated condition without doors and sinking roofs. The Department carefully documented the building and effected structural conservation in the scientific method. A garden is also arranged on the premises.
Now there functions a Numismatics Museum from 1992 along with a Folklore Museum, organized by the Department. The rich cultural heritage of the past is revealed through the rich and varied exhibits such as rare ancient coins, musical instruments, occupational implements, household utensils and the models of Folk art forms.
Numismatic Museum
The Numismatics Museum which functions on the ground floor of the Koyikkal Palace provides valuable information on the origin of the coins, related historical events, trade relationships, other socio-political relationships and the cultural heritage of the country. In this museum, the coins are arranged chronologically and they are exhibited in such a way that a viewer can see the obverse and reverse of the coins very clearly. The Karshapanam of Magadha, Karshapanam of Asoka, the coins prevalent in ancient Kerala like Lekshmi Varahan, Parvathi Roopa, Rasi , Kaliyan Panam, Vellichakram, Eratta Puthen, Kochi Otta Puthen, Kochi Gold panam, Kozhikode Vira Rayam panam and Puthiya panam, Roman silver and golden coins, Indo- Dutch coins, Indo- French coins etc. are exhibited in one section. Selected coins circulated in south India like Chera coins, Chola coins, Vijaya Nagara coins, Siva- Ganga coins, Nayakas coins etc are exhibited in another section. Besides these, there housed different types of weight measuring devices, the implements used to make the coins, the Rasipalaka (the wooden board used to count the coins), the treasury tokens, the badges used by the officials of Revenue Department etc.
Folklore Museum
The folklore Museum functions at Koyikkal Palace envisage the different stages of human evolution, a cultural manifestation of the past and present and the material elements of the bygone past.  The hunting tools, plough ,potters wheel, traditional ammunition, the age-old household amenities and utensils,  music instruments, the implements which related to manual labour, the wooden and stone made utensils presented by Kurinjilikottu Madam, earthen pots and  antique objects obtained from the Bhavathi temple at Vellanad, stamps, weight measuring devices, the life-size models of different art forms such as Theyyam, Thullal, Thira, Mudiyettu, Iverkali, Padayani, Kummatty etc, the costumes and ornaments used for the same and the dolls used for puppet show named Tholpava koothu all are exhibited in this Folklore museum. The different artefacts of the tribal people such as different ammunitions, household amenities, age-old musical instruments and implements used for manual labour exhibited there to reveal the lifestyle, heritage and traditions of them. The types of equipment used for different agricultural activities, handloom, different carts like bullock carts, Thattu Vandi, Villu Vandi, horse cart etc, the wooden boxes used to keep rice and paddy etc.
It was really a memorable field trip as we travelled, ate, laughed and solved many problems of the trip together.
