Making it as good as the old
Restoration of the heritage mandapam of a temple in Kozhikode wins three conservation architects a bunch of awards
Conservation architects Swathy Subramanian, Savita Rajan and Ritu Sara Thomas could not believe their ears when they were requested to restore a 300-year-old dilapidated structure within two months for an annual ritual. They visited the heritage Kunnamangalam Bhagawati Temple in Naduvannur, 29 kilometres from Kozhikode in January 2023. They had to restore a mandapam in front of the sanctum sanctorum by March 10.
A year later, they are basking in the accolades coming their way for successfully restoring the heritage mandapam.
Awards galore
In December 2023, the women-led project won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation for their work on the Karnikara mandapam at the temple. They also won the Gold Leaf Award, instituted by the Indian Institute of Architects. Three of them, alumnae of the School of Planning and Architecture, formed Ezha in 2017. It focuses on conservation architecture, documentation and restoration of heritage structures.
They recall they did not expect the mandpam to be in such a state of disrepair. “The 16 teak pillars were crumbling due to termites and the roof would have caved in during the next rain,” recalls Swathy.
More than a place of mandapam worship, this was the oldest structure in the neighbourhood.
“The local lore is that Bhadrakali, the main deity in the temple, is the guardian of the 18 hills and streams in the vicinity. So, the environment has not been vandalised in any way,” explains Sruthin Lal, executive director of the Archival and Research Project (ARPO), who contacted Ezha to restore the mandapam.
In 2022, Sruthin happened to meet Vivek Sahni, CEO and co-founder of Kama Ayurveda, an admirer of the work ARPO was doing.
“Enthralled by the story of the temple and the local belief, he agreed to donate ₹11 lakh for the restoration of the mandapam,” says Sruthin. Immediately, he informed the management of the temple of the offer.
Sruthin and Swathy’s team convinced the committee to preserve the mandapam without demolishing or modifying the original structure.
Instead of teak, which was beyond their budget, they chose venga, to replace the pillars and roof. In the place of paint or varnish, they used an aromatic concoction made by Purushu Vaidhyan, a local Ayurveda physician.
“We were able to engage with local craftsmen on account of the use of lime made from clam shells; stone craftsmen worked on the laterite bricks and an expert in temple wood work did the timber work. These are dying arts and we are glad we were able to do our bit to keep them going,” says Swathy.
In March 2023, the mandapam was the venue for Kalamezhuthu and Kolamvettu, a ritual that stages the killing of a demon Darika by Bhadrakali.
“The restored sanctuary establishes an admirable grass-roots model for transmitting the cultural legacy of Karnikara mandapam and other living religious sites across India and beyond,” reads the citation of the UNESCO award.
We were able to engage with local craftsmen on account of the use of lime made from clam shells; stone craftsmen worked on the laterite bricks ... These are dying arts and we are glad we were able to do our bit to keep them going