Kerala’s museums and archives stand as souvenirs of the bygone years. The monuments, palaces, and heritage museums of Kerala adorn important places in the annals of history.
For those who really love to study culture and tradition, the museums and archives of Kerala are a source of delight. Before the introduction of paper, Keralites made use of palm leaves as a medium to write on. A considerable number of literature works of the early periods were written on palm leaves using a stylus. Many of the literature works, documents on Ayurveda, family genealogy and more were stored as palm leaf manuscripts. Collections of these manuscripts are still preserved in the Archives Department.
Some of the museums worth visiting in Kerala are:
Archeological Museum – is located in Kollengode Palace, Palakkad. With its age old murals, sculptures, manuscripts, megaliths and stone engravings, the center is a delight for any visitor. Veerakallu (hero stones) of this museum is one of the treasured possessions. The huge life size statues of heroes of the past and the manuscripts are the added attractions of this center.
Napier Museum of Arts and Crafts – Articles from the 12th century onwards are exhibited at this center located in Thiruvananthapuram. Models of temples carved out of wood, golden belts, necklaces, and ivory works are on display. Named after the governor general of Madras, John Napier, the museum itself is a fine blend of Chinese, Mughal, Italian and traditional Kerala style of architecture.
Museum of Kerala History –This museum in Kochi offers a complete light and sound show with 3D visuals, to tell the story of Kerala’s bygone years. Nearly 36 visuals of this museum tell the history of the past two thousand years of Kerala.
Kottarakara Thampuran Memorial Museum – located in Kottakara, this museum exhibits life size figures of various traditional art forms like Mohiniyattom, Bharathanatyam, and Kathakali. The Tanjore Veena is a major attraction here.
Krishnapuram Palace Museum and Pazhassi Raja Archeological Museum are other famous museums to visit in Kerala. |
