18 March 2025 - Day 7 of our Kerala Trip. We first had the darshan of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy early in the morning and then visited the Puthenmalika Palace Musuem located close to the East Fort of the temple.
It was the last day of our Kerala trip and our flight was at around 8.30 p.m. We checked out the hotel at 11 a.m and with the luggage in the cab, we visited Napier Museum, Trivandrum Zoo and Raja Ravi Varma Art Gallery as these three are located at one place only.
Also Read Sree Ananta Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
It was afternoon and was terribly hot. We felt completely drained off with long walks inside the complex. Fortunately, there are good number of trees in the complex and we saw many visitors taking rest under the shade of the trees. First we had a peep into the ancient artefacts in the Napier Museum which took us to the world of monarchy. From here we went round the zoo. We had no idea that the Art Gallery would close at 5 p.m.
During our visit the visiting time was 10.00 a.m to 5 p.m and the entry ticket price was Rs.50 per adult. The gallery remains closed on Mondays.
At around 3.30 p.m we entered Raja Ravi Varma's Sri Chithra Art Gallery and we felt 'ah' as it's an AC gallery. I grew up seeing the pictures of Ravi Varma's paintings. And there! I was amazed to see the display of the original paintings of Raja Ravi Varma.
The Art Gallery is a state-of-the-art dedicated to showcasing the original paintings of Raja Ravi Varma who is one of the most celebrated artists of India. The art gallery is a standing monument to the finest for fine arts i.e. paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. His artistic works are displayed in the ground floor as well as in the first floor.
We actually wanted to spend more time in this art gallery admiring each and every art piece of Raja Ravi Varma but as it closes by 4.45 p.m, we had to go around in a hurry. However, the gallery in-charge were kind enough to wait till all the visitors moved out.
On seeing the awesome artistic works, I realized that we did a mistake by visiting the Trivandrum Zoo which is not worth a visit for families with teenage children. However, it is good for families with kids who enjoy the animals in the zoo. If you plan a visit to Thiruvananthapuram and if you are an admirer of art works / oil paintings, Raja Ravi Varma Art Gallery is a must-visit place. I still regret that I couldn't spend enough time in the Art Gallery and didn't find much time to explore in-depth, each and every art piece of the iconic artist Raja Varma.
However, I feel happy that at least I got the chance to visit the gallery and see his art pieces. Here are few of his art pieces which I clicked. And I sure most of these art works don't need a description as you will easily get to know what is depicted in the paintings.
That is the portrait of Raja Ravi Varma, one of the wonderful artists of India.
Well, the above painting needs no description. A wonderful lively art piece named 'Jatayu Vadh' by Raja Ravi Varma. It's a scene from Ramayana where Ravana cuts one of the wings of Jatayu when the bird obstructs him on his way to Lanka after abducting Sita Devi. Look at the beauty of the art piece Sita Devi closing her eyes with her hands. It's so realistic. No words of appreciation.
The above art piece is of Sri Mahavishnu seated on His Divine Vahana - Garuda, with Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side. In this painting you can see the signature of Raja Ravi Varma on the right bottom.
The above famous oil painting on canvas also needs no description. It's Damayanti (from the story of Nala-Damayanti) with a hamsa (swan). This painting with realistic looks has receive fame all over the world.
The above oil painting on canvas depicts Simhika with Droupati.
And the painting seen above is of Madri with a fruit plate in hand. There are around 50 original paintings of Raja Ravi Varma in the Art Gallery. Each and every painting is extra-ordinary in its own style and an art-lover who loves exploring should spend at least 3 hours to have a detailed view of these wonderful art pieces. Undoubtedly this is one of the best tourist destinations in Thiruvananthapuram which is worth visiting.
So after we went round the gallery hurriedly as it was closing time, we headed to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport as our flight to Hyderabad was at 7.30 p.m. The airport faces Arabian Sea and on the way to airport, there is a famous beach named Shanghumukham beach close to the airport. The beach is regarded Arattukadavu (sorry, I don't know the meaning of this Malayali word) of Sri Ananthapadmanabhaswamy. During religious events, the ceremony of Bali Tarpanam is carried out at this beach. And on Arattu (sorry don't know the meaning of this word as well) day the idols of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy, Sri Narasimha Swamy and Sri Krishna are carried in a procession in this beach when the Travancore royal family members walk bare foot in the procession. If any of the viewers know the meaning of these two words please do mention the meanings of these two words in the comment box below.
We reached the airport a bit early and just hanged around till the boarding time. We had a wonderful time in our Kerala trip and in my view, this is one of the best states where people are very soft-spoken and very sincere and honest. We really loved the people there and the state as well. We are sure to visit the state for the second time as well.
It was the last day of our Kerala trip and our flight was at around 8.30 p.m. We checked out the hotel at 11 a.m and with the luggage in the cab, we visited Napier Museum, Trivandrum Zoo and Raja Ravi Varma Art Gallery as these three are located at one place only.
Also Read Sree Ananta Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
It was afternoon and was terribly hot. We felt completely drained off with long walks inside the complex. Fortunately, there are good number of trees in the complex and we saw many visitors taking rest under the shade of the trees. First we had a peep into the ancient artefacts in the Napier Museum which took us to the world of monarchy. From here we went round the zoo. We had no idea that the Art Gallery would close at 5 p.m.
During our visit the visiting time was 10.00 a.m to 5 p.m and the entry ticket price was Rs.50 per adult. The gallery remains closed on Mondays.
At around 3.30 p.m we entered Raja Ravi Varma's Sri Chithra Art Gallery and we felt 'ah' as it's an AC gallery. I grew up seeing the pictures of Ravi Varma's paintings. And there! I was amazed to see the display of the original paintings of Raja Ravi Varma.
The Art Gallery is a state-of-the-art dedicated to showcasing the original paintings of Raja Ravi Varma who is one of the most celebrated artists of India. The art gallery is a standing monument to the finest for fine arts i.e. paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. His artistic works are displayed in the ground floor as well as in the first floor.
We actually wanted to spend more time in this art gallery admiring each and every art piece of Raja Ravi Varma but as it closes by 4.45 p.m, we had to go around in a hurry. However, the gallery in-charge were kind enough to wait till all the visitors moved out.
On seeing the awesome artistic works, I realized that we did a mistake by visiting the Trivandrum Zoo which is not worth a visit for families with teenage children. However, it is good for families with kids who enjoy the animals in the zoo. If you plan a visit to Thiruvananthapuram and if you are an admirer of art works / oil paintings, Raja Ravi Varma Art Gallery is a must-visit place. I still regret that I couldn't spend enough time in the Art Gallery and didn't find much time to explore in-depth, each and every art piece of the iconic artist Raja Varma.
However, I feel happy that at least I got the chance to visit the gallery and see his art pieces. Here are few of his art pieces which I clicked. And I sure most of these art works don't need a description as you will easily get to know what is depicted in the paintings.
So after we went round the gallery hurriedly as it was closing time, we headed to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport as our flight to Hyderabad was at 7.30 p.m. The airport faces Arabian Sea and on the way to airport, there is a famous beach named Shanghumukham beach close to the airport. The beach is regarded Arattukadavu (sorry, I don't know the meaning of this Malayali word) of Sri Ananthapadmanabhaswamy. During religious events, the ceremony of Bali Tarpanam is carried out at this beach. And on Arattu (sorry don't know the meaning of this word as well) day the idols of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy, Sri Narasimha Swamy and Sri Krishna are carried in a procession in this beach when the Travancore royal family members walk bare foot in the procession. If any of the viewers know the meaning of these two words please do mention the meanings of these two words in the comment box below.
We reached the airport a bit early and just hanged around till the boarding time. We had a wonderful time in our Kerala trip and in my view, this is one of the best states where people are very soft-spoken and very sincere and honest. We really loved the people there and the state as well. We are sure to visit the state for the second time as well.
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