384-year-old palace in Madurai gears up for reopening

MADURAI: Thirumalai Nayak Mahal, the 384-year-old palace of King Thirumalai Nayakkar, dons a fresh look after being renovated at a cost of Rs 3.36 crore.

Officials said that the major part of the renovation work was netting the open spaces in the centre of the rectangular courtyard to prevent pigeons from entering the palace. "Though we made several attempts to net the courtyard, we were not able to find a permanent solution. But now we have fixed weightless fibre nets and covered the centre portion. We have also covered the smaller openings on the sides," the officials said.

The palace, a classical example of confluence of cultures, has domes that were inspired by Indo-Saracenic style. The 248 massive pillars, each having a length of 58 feet and diametre of 5 feet, arranged in columns, reflects Gothic style. The rectangular courtyard in the centre is flanked by colonnades.

According to sources,  the renovation works were funded by the State tourism department. "The works included structural improvement (`98.45 lakh), construction works of pillar (Rs 69.34 lakh), leakage arrest (Rs 102.79 lakh), drainage (Rs 9.35 lakh) and signage (Rs 4.50 lakh). The renovation works were being carried out since October last," they said.

Though the works were planned to be completed by September this year, it missed the deadline owing to the pandemic. While majority of the works are over, those pending would be completed and the Mahal would all set for reopening in the next ten days.

Earlier, the palace was renovated in 1995-96 at a cost of Rs 76.31 lakh, in 2003-2004 at a cost of Rs 1 crore (based on the recommendations of the 11th Finance Commission) and in 2008-2009 at a cost of Rs 3 crore (based on the recommendations of the 12th Finance Commission.) "To maintain the monuments in Tamil Nadu, the State government allots Rs 2 crore annually, using which minor restoration works like leakage arrest was carried out in the palace last year," added officials.