By Our Correspondent/Thiruvananthapuram


Trivandrum Hotel: gets back its original charm
Trivandrum Hotel, a stone’s throw from the Secretariat, Kerala’s seat of power, was once the most happening place in the state capital. The guest list included the who’s who of the state’s politics and culture.
They included E M S Namboothiripad, Kerala’s first chief minister who was credited with bringing a communist government to power through popular ballot for the first time in the world, and C Achutha Menon, his successor and the best chief minister the state has ever had.
There was also K Karunakaran, the veteran Congress Party leader and three-time chief minister who died last year. They were all permanent guests of the hotel before an exclusive hostel for the legislators was built. But the hotel still remained a favourite hangout for intellectuals whose influence in shaping the state’s destiny is history.
There were literary giants like G Sankara Kurup, Kuroor Neelakantan Nampoodiri, P Kunjuraman Nair, Uroob, Vailoppilly Sreedharan Menon, Thakazhy Sivasankara Pillai, Keasava Dev, Kunjunni Master, V T Induchoodan, Sukumar Azhikode, S Guptan Nair, musicians like Jaya Vijayans, Vidyadharan and M G Radhakrishnan, dramatists like the Kainikkara brothers, N Krishna Pillai, T N Gopinathan Nair and T R Sukumaran Nair and spiritual leaders including Nitya Chaithanya Yathi.
Slowly, it faded into history and the glory remained engraved in a few people’s memory until a non-resident Indian entrepreneur realised its business potential and decided to restore the hotel’s old grandeur in a modern outfit.
The Trivandrum Hotel now stands out with its original charm.
“While renovating the hotel we have taken great care to ensure that the building and facilities live up to the hotel’s legacy. The renovated hotel also depicts a modern outlook, but at heart carries forward the rich legacy of its past,” explains B Kishore Kumar, an Oman-based Indian who is the brain behind the grand idea along with two friends.
“The hotel has played a decisive role in the history of Travancore and later Kerala and was part and parcel of its capital city’s heritage. The older generations who studied, worked or lived here remember the place for its ethnic Travancore cuisine and the intellectual exercises conducted on the hotel premises,” he said.
The hotel was formally opened by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy last week. At the function, Transport Minister V S Shivakumar unveiled mural paintings depicting the journey of The Trivandrum Hotel. On permanent display are rare photographs taken from the collections of the erstwhile royal family which tells the transformation of the city.
“Trivandrum has always been known as one of the cleanest cities in the world and it is imperative that we maintain this lead,” said former federal minister O Rajagopal.