Kerala’s Devaswom and Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran released a special volume on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple brought out by the special publications division of The Hindu here on Monday morning, presenting a copy to Aswathy Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi. The simple function, organised in the forecourt area of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, was witnessed by a clutch of morning visitors to the iconic temple standing tall in the heart of Kerala's capital city.
Titled ‘Wealth of Heritage’, the special volume has articles, accompanied by an array of pictures, on the traditions associated with the temple, its rich history, its amazing architectural splendour and the many rituals and festivities associated with it.
The collector’s item also has a portfolio of photographs, including a few rare ones, from The Hindu Photo Archives.
Releasing the volume, the Minister said that the special volume from The Hindu would further spread the fame of the temple. “Any work on the temple and the royal family of erstwhile Travancore is a matter of pride for us. The fame of the temple has now crossed the oceans and spread across the world. Now, the world wants to hear about the temple. The Hindu has to be lauded for taking up this work, which will spread the fame across the world,” said Mr. Surendran.
Aswathy Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore said that there is much more yet to be written about the Padmanabhaswamy temple, even after all these years.
“This volume looks quite beautiful to me. But my over-possessiveness about the temple prevents me from saying anything more, until I read each and every line of this book. Let more and more people write about the temple and pay their tribute to the lord with their words,” she said.
The cover price of the 108-page volume, the ninth in a series on southern Indian religious centres brought out by The Hindu, is ₹200.
