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The Old and the Beautiful
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Stately houses can be remodelled without marring their traditional style. SARASWATHY NAGARAJAN takes a look at one such house in the city.
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AT A time when many stately houses in Thiruvananthapuram are vanishing overnight, only to be replaced by gleaming concrete and glass structures, perhaps this 100-year-old house that is tucked away in Rosscote Lane, opposite Trivandrum Club, could give a clue about how one could modernise such houses without demolishing them.
This was the house that C. V. Raman Pillai, litterateur and playwright, built in 1902. Called `Rosscote', in memory of John Ross, his teacher and first Principal of the `His Highness The Maharaja's College of Science' (the forerunner of the University College), this house was once the centre of literary and intellectual activities. Luminaries from all walks of life gathered at the house to discuss the political, social and literary events of those times.
Without altering the traditional look of the house or its structure, the house was recently modernised to accommodate the needs of its occupants, one of whom, Rajeev Nair, is physically disabled. Rajeev is CV's great-grandson.
"With minimum interference, we remodelled certain areas of the house so that Rajeev could move around in his wheelchair freely. Steps were replaced with ramps and the width of the doors was increased. A modern kitchen was added and a room specially designed to cater to Rajeev's needs," explains G. Shanker, the architect in charge of the project.
Rajeev's room is a space where he can independently manage everything on his own. From the low bed, which is just about two feet from the ground, to the cupboards and switches, each functional unit has been thoughtfully located.
The washbasin, for instance, is placed just about a foot from the ground. The attached bathroom, a recent addition, has a sunken bath. "I am in charge of my room and this is one place where I need no help," says Rajeev with confidence. "When we modernised the house, there were two objectives - one was to make it user-friendly for Rajeev and another was to preserve the rich heritage and legacy of this house," says Indu Pillai, Rajeev's sister-in-law. The verandah, where CV crafted all his works, has thus been left untouched. "The cast-iron handrails in the verandah and around the naalukettu (open courtyard) were sent by Raja Ravi Varma from Mumbai," says Rosscote Krishna Pillai, grandson of CV.
"The house was once opposite what was then called the European Club (now the Trivandrum Club) and stood on three acres of land. Partition of the house and the land have wrought many changes. But my sister and I were determined to preserve the house where CV lived. At the same time, we realised that some changes would have to be made. Fortunately, Ramesh Nair, Rajeev's brother, who is the creative head of an ad agency in Bangalore, felt the same way and so he and his wife, Indu, did the interior designing," elaborates Krishna Pillai.
While remodelling the house, the antique pieces of furniture, which were lying around unpolished and neglected, were carefully renovated. Now, these furniture, including CV's ornately carved cot, occupy pride of place in the house.
"T. S. Nagarajan, ace photographer, had once clicked a picture of my mother, CV's daughter, sitting on this bed. Titled `The Matriarch', it went on to win several awards for him," says Krishna Pillai.
The heavy, carved rosewood sofas and tables in the rectangular hall where CV rehearsed his plays, also belong to another era.
Shanker feels that it is important to preserve such buildings, which have a bearing on the cultural and literacy legacy of Kerala. "Tearing down such houses is a kind of cultural vandalism," he avers.
The challenge, says Shanker, was to make the house disabled-friendly without marring either the aesthetics of the building or its traditional style and it had to be cost effective as well.
Photos: S. Mahinsha
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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