Aranmula is a place It is a suburb of Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta District (10 km) and Chengannur (10 km).

The place was lying on the bank of

the Pamba River, a riverwhere the famous Dragon boat race is annually held on the last day of the week long Onam festival. It is situated in
Pathanamthitta district, a place well-known to its fertile agricultural land, forest, varieties of vegetables, plantations particularly rubber, tapioca, and
spices like cardamom, pepper.
• The overall arrangements are a linear settlement with main lane as the cardinal axis culminated in the Parthasarathi Temple stands as main
landmark on the north end.
• Main houses stood along a lane which runs from temple gate to the main road. The branch-lanes stand perpendicular to main road toward the
banks of Pamba River on the east side, where people utilized for sanitary functions.
• Most mansion compounds were identified to belong to royal families bearing the title Varma and Brahmin’s family.

• Nearing the main road there

are small shrine and lighting
post under a tree on a
platform.
• It stands in a junction, beyond
which, residential buildings are
arranged in more lose and less
geometrical manner than the
northern part.
• It clearly brought impression
that this shrine marked the end
of the linear settlement,
beyond which was open lands,
which is filled by newer houses
or houses of the commoners.

Sketched  Plan of Settlement

around Parthasarathi Temple,
Aranmula

ASSIGNMENT 3 TYPICAL HOUSE OF ARANMULA Prajwal(1IE17AT006)

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 House of Subrahmaniyam Musath an example to show a typical
housing in Aranmula

• Subrahmaniyam Musath was a family who had been descendants

of temple care takers of the quarter. Nalukettu belonging to
Subrahmaniyam Musath was claimed to be roughly 400 year’s
old nalukettu, made of wood.
• It made the house the oldest sample of nalukettu I found during
my observation in 2004.
• The compound stands in the western side of the  Parthasarathi
Temple, next to main small lanes that run to main lane and the
temple.
• The compound was fronted by a pattipura.
• Inside, a small courtyard (kuzhi) was the only place that allowed
natural lighting to enter the house and also functioned to drain
rainwater. Mr. Subrahhmaniyam Musath and wife stayed in
the nalukettu, but the children and their family stayed in adjacent
additional building.

Plan

Nira wall House of Subrahmaniam Musth

ASSIGNMENT 3 TYPICAL HOUSE OF ARANMULA Prajwal(1IE17AT006)
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 CHARACTERISTIC OF THE BUILDING

• The most characteristic of the building in both Aranmula, and also

Pandalam were the open-lay-out characters of the nalukettu. they had
no window except courtyard as openings.
• The wall is of continuous wooden plank wall (nira) all over the wall.
This character resembles windowless characters of the Southeast
Asian buildings.
• The only opening is the back door that leads to the other buildings
or nalukettus belonging to extended member of family and the front
door that lead to  front entrance and gateway, pattipura.
• The main quarter of house had space underneath for storage, Pattayapura or big mansion adjoining nalukettu 
 nilavara, which was approximately 1 m high.   Exceptionally, they (owner: Subramaniam Musath- aranmula)
mostly exhibited kitchen in South corner as well as entrance.

Schematics  Plan of House-Compound of Subrahmaniam Musath and the pattipura

ASSIGNMENT 3 TYPICAL HOUSE OF ARANMULA Prajwal(1IE17AT006)
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