A week before independence day this year(2022), we were thinking about going on a trip on the independence day long weekend. As it’s the 75th year since independence, we decided to ride to Trivandrum and witness the Official Independence day parade and flag hoisting event at the Central Stadium, TVM. Here is our Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav experience in detail.
Table of content
How we prepared for the TVM Ride
Check-in to Athiti Prime homestay
Azad Hotel, on the way to Aries Plex theatre
The Museum and the huge flag in Kanakakottaram
Amma veedu buildings and Power House
On Niyamasabha Mandiram at Midnight
The Independence Day Parade at Central Stadium, Trivandrum
To see the Methan Mani ringing Live
How we prepared for the TVM Ride
There are nearly 200 KMs to TVM from Vypin. As always, we wanted to go on our own motorcycle. Booked a homestay near all the places we wanted to visit. We used Air Bnb and iBibo to book a stay. Both had some good feasible options. The Atithi prime homestay is just 1.9 KMs from the central stadium. We listed out a few places we wanted to explore. Here is the list:
- Kuthira Malika
- Methan Mani near Padmanabha swamy temple
- Chaala Bazaar
- Powerhouse building
- Amma veedu buildings in West Fort, Aaratu road
- Kerala Niyamasabha Mandiram
- Kowdiar palace
- Central Stadium for the parade
The bag was packed a day before itself. Did a quick general checkup for the motorcycle to assure it’s in good condition. I tried to wash my bike from a few nearby water service stations but they all were busy, so I decided to do it myself. We decided to go to Thuravoor (Rajnas Home) Friday evening so that we can reduce 40 KMs from the total 200 KM distance from Vypin to Trivandrum.
Starting off from Thuravoor
We tried to sleep early to ensure good sleep before the next day’s long ride. But still, we ended up planning things till 12 AM. Our plan was to start by 4:30 AM but we left home at 5:50 AM. There was a slight rain before 5:30 AM but I stopped after 10 minutes.
The road was open and free so we covered a good distance before the sun got really hot at 9 AM. The whole theme of our ride was ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The National Flag Twist
Just before Kollam, we bought a national flag from a north Indian highway seller. He asked for 200 but we gave him only 100. We tied the large flag at the back of the luggage. The flag was looking really nice, waving in the wind as we moved in TVM’s direction.
But suddenly, after just a kilometer or so we lost the flag. It wasn’t attached to the pipe strongly. I went back and searched but it was nowhere near the places we searched. We moved on as that wasn’t the priority at that point. Our Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav ride thus kept going.
Entering TVM
From childhood, we had that carved in our hearts that Trivandrum is our capital district and thus TVM is special. The roads, the large number of government buildings, universities, parks, zoo, palaces, and royal buildings, TVM has it all.
We took a d deviation to avoid Kollam city after Attingal. After that, we went through a decent number of large, tall, and wider bridges that went through some very scenic places. That highway passed by the side of Lulu Mall and I felt the same as riding through Edapally Jn at that time.
Check-in to Athiti Prime homestay
By 10:30 AM we reached the homestay. Alok was the caretaker guy. He was from West Bengal, and he was extraordinarily polite, and calm. We liked the way he hosted us by making us comfortable.
He also has a Ginger cat-like-looking hybrid breed cat. Oreo is the name of that cat. We quickly kept our bags in the room and freshen up for the outing. As the slogan ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, we saw a few pets that are enjoying their freedom here.
First place – Kuthiramalika
After an hour we started off to Kuthiramalika first. It was near the famous Padmabhaswami temple. The street was very crowded. We first had lime juice and a traditional masala sambaram from a local seller lady. An auto driver explained a few things about Kuthiramalika. We quickly went inside. First, we saw the Methan Mani clock and then entered the old palace building blocks.
The place was bigger and grander than we expected. We came to know that even the temple and the fort-like wall and arch gates were part of the palace once. The shops and all business entities allowed within this limit are actually ruining the grandeur of the palace. Doest that comply with the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav idea, we don’t think so!
Entering the palace and inside tour
There was a guide who explained everything regarding the royal family, the construction of this palace complex, the history of the rulers, special facts about the buildings, the gifts and other assets of the royal family displayed there, etc.
The glass thorn and the ivory artifacts gained my attention quickly. There were painting gifts received from other countries, and also special rooms which had interesting intentions. The building got its name from the horse-like wooden supports at the side of the building.
The grass lawn and other buildings in the surrounding made the place really look beautiful. Moreover, we will get an opportunity to revisit the king’s and queen’s time once reined our land. That was obviously an Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav experience.
Methan Mani Bell Ringing
When we were leaving the palace it was already 2 PM. We heard a ringing bell and realized that it is the Methan mani that rings every hour. It is placed on a building on the pathway to the temple.
It looks unique because it’s not just a clock but it is placed like a clock tower and a bell tower together. The highlight is that this year’s old clock consists of 2 goats placed on either side with a man’s head in the middle. Along with the bell ringing, the man opens his mouth and the goats hit his head until he closes it. People believe, the man in the middle is Tipu Sultan, as he was once conquering all princely lands in our country.
We decided to come back here before we go back to Kochi, to witness this interesting bell-ringing process at least once.
Azad Hotel, on the way to Aries Plex theatre
When I last came to TVM for IFFK with my cousin Chandy, we had lunch at this restaurant, which is one of the famous ones here. Their biriyani is excellent. It was crowded but we managed to get a seat after a few minutes. After lunch, we decided to go to the zoo as it was a place full of greenery and shade. The hot sun made us feel like going back to our room but I knew it will not help us in visiting as much as places in 2 days. We then decided to take our Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav journey to the TVM zoo.
Trivandrum Zoo
I visited this zoo when I came to TVM for the first time to witness IFFK. I liked it very much as this was the best zoo I have ever seen. It consists of the best collection of birds and animals and also the most amazing environment, not just for the animals but also for the visitors.
As it was the evening before the 75th independence day of India, the place was super crowded. Finding a parking space needed some effort. Rajna was tired but I kept trying to keep her motivated. The place and animals made her feel better quickly too.
She was excited to see the hippopotamus standing on the land as she have always seen them dipped in the water body. A wide variety of foreign birds, forest owls, deers, the rhino, and the bear was cool. But it was the tiger and the leopards that made us go wow. Especially the white tiger which gave us a nice show by walking restlessly in his cage.
We were excited to see all these animals but we were also realising the fact that none of these animals are supposed to be in these caged environments. Doesn’t matter how natural we make it look, they know it’s not the freedom everyone wants. The occasion itself will stay as an irony this time. We liked the zoo, the animals, and the way they are maintaining it but I don’t think these animals got to taste any kind of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ thing.
The Museum and the huge flag in Kanakakottaram
The huge flag fluttering in the wind struck my eyes when we reached the zoo as it can be seen from a long distance itself. Moreover, a tricolor flag of this size is not usual as well. It was placed on. A large pole in the Kanakakottaram compound. This actually gave us some Independence Day Parade vibes. We didn’t go there as we wanted to visit the Amma veedu buildings in West fort road before the sun goes down.
We went to the museum park and palace complex and quickly snapped a few photos. We rested on the grass for some time.
Amma veedu buildings and Power House
When we researched the places in TVM, we came to know about the Amma veedu buildings which are houses built for the queens. There were many such houses on the west fort – aarattu road. Many looked like the ones we saw in Chettinadu. Many of them were ruined and a few turned into convention centers, hotels, and government offices. We clicked photos of a few buildings we spotted.
On the way, we also spotted the Old Power House building. The red building looked nice but now a flyover is right in front of it which is covering its majestic view. We then decided to go to the Kerala Assembly building, which we call the ‘Niyamasabha Mandiram’.
On Niyamasabha Mandiram at Midnight
Rajna wanted to see the Assembly building too, so we decided to go there and see the lights and take photos. We were sure the Assembly building will be a milestone to cover as we are so excited about the Independence Day Parade we are going to witness tomorrow.
The place was completely lit. There were lights everywhere. Rajna wanted to go inside and see the compound. As I had a similar experience asking the guards for going inside and getting denied, I don’t want to go.
To our surprise, we saw a few people entering inside and rushing to the office. Rajna asked the guards and they told as it’s the 75th independence day celebration time, they are allowing people even at this night time to visit not just the compound but also the assembly hall itself.
We quickly entered the registration office and got a token to enter. Our bags were kept in the locker, they asked us to turn off mobiles while entering the hall.
Freedom History Exhibition
We went straight to the main building. Even though the completed light-decorated surroundings and niyamasabha mandiram was so tempting us to take photos right away, we decided to enter the building first as the entry was allowed only till 8:30 PM.
The freedom exhibition was completely filled with paper cuttings, government records, photos, books, and other important historical documents which showed us rare info about the freedom fight history and important events and people that happened to be in the limelight in the last century.
The Assembly Hall
After that, we were taken to the main assembly hall in a lift. A man was explaining everything about the hall and its functioning, including where each person sits and how the meetings are conducted, and other interesting facts about the niyamasabha mandiram. He told that the building has 2 floors underground which are built to defend against any kind of attacks and there is also a satellite communication facility on one floor. The roof of the building is sprayed with a special chemical that avoids echoes. There are hundreds of lights placed on the sides which will be lit during the meetings.
After spending around 30 minutes there we decided to step down. As the person dictating us all this info was funny and explaining things in an interesting manner, we really liked this experience. After that, we came out and took enough pictures of the surroundings. There were many channel officials outside covering this great view of the niyamasabha mandiram and the people who were there to witness it.
Dinner @ Zam Zam
Next, we decided to have dinner and went straight to Zam Zam. This was another restaurant famous in TVM, and I visited this place earlier while attending IFFK. It was crowded but we managed to get 2 seats after 15 minutes of waiting. The food was good as always and we saw some amazingly lit buildings on our way back to the room. As we wanted to attend the independence day parade early morning next day we slept early.
Next Day Morning 8:00 AM – Central Stadium
We tried to get up early and reach the central stadium by 7:30 AM but we got a bit late and started from our homestay towards the stadium at 8 AM. I got confused between Chandrasekheran Nair Stadium and Central Stadium. The Independence Day Parade of the Kerala State is officially held at the Central Stadium just back of the Secretariat. The traffic signals on the way slowed us down but finally, we found the place without losing much time. The stadium was surrounded by a lot of policemen and their vehicles including firefox, trucks, jeeps, and ambulances. Furthermore, the groups of different scouts and guides were also seen near the stadium which was interesting.
We entered the stadium after a routine check and went straight to the gallery. The stadium doesn’t look like a modern playground at all. It was just like an old parade ground. The gallery was old-fashioned with people sitting on layered grass. However, everything was newly painted and nicely maintained. There was an order for everything.
The Independence Day Parade at Central Stadium, Trivandrum
The Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan himself will be hoisting the flag and that was the main highlight of this parade. As the time arrived, the troops representing each forces started entering the ground through the main gate. The band accompanied them with the trademark parade song. There was also a troop in houses. We heard about them all these years through newspapers, TV, and people who saw them night patrolling but now we got to see them directly here.
The ‘Ashwa-sena’ looked composed and the houses were dressed like war horses f the yesteryears. While each troop entered the ground, the announcer introduced them to the crowd. Once all entered and grouped in the ground middle in order, the announcement came that the chief minister will hoist the flag along with a helicopter pouring flowers from above, and simultaneously the bands will play the National Anthem.
Flag hoisting and Flower showers from the helicopter
Even before the announcement got over, the helicopter arrived with a flower shower, the national anthem started and the flag was hoisted. It all happened in a blink of an eye. The helicopter was so silent that we knew it was here when it entered above the ground.
After that, there was a parade of the troops as they salute the flag and CM. The horse troops were also part of it. It was a great view and a nice experience. The only thing that disturbed the audience was the sight of many student cadets fainting on the ground as they wait for the main parade. However, there were substitute cadets made ready in the stadium who ran to join the group each time a cadet was removed from the troop.
After the main parade, there was a stunt show by the horse’s troops. That was interesting as well. the announcer introduced each horse to the crowd by explaining its name and the achievements and performances it has made in different events and parade. And thus, our Independence Day Parade attending wish was fulfilled.
We left the ground after these events.
To see the Methan Mani ringing Live
Even though we heard the Methan mani near the Padmanabha temple ring yesterday we didn’t see the clock working in real, so we decided to go there after having breakfast. Before 12 PM we reached the spot. After having sambaram from the same lady we approached yesterday, we started waiting in front of the clock. Another family also joined us in the wait. At 12 it didn’t ring, we waited till 12:05 PM still it didn’t ring. We told the other family that we heard it ranging yesterday. As we thought it is not going to work today, at 12:05 it rang.
We thought it will only once but it rank 12 times, each time we saw the man opening his mouth, and when it fully opened the goats on both ends punched the man with their head and the man closes his mouth. That was a very interesting view.
Chaala Bazar
Chaala Bazar, the age-old market was another highlight of the city we wanted to visit. We took a ride through its busy streets. The roads were not so nice but the feeling when we are moving within those old buildings and the shops were unique. Everyone was enjoying the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav occasion as there was at least a tricolor flag hoisted in all shops and houses.
We tried shopping for some antiques but didn’t find anything interesting. So we decided to leave the city with a souvenir other than the great moments captured on our phones. We bought two biriyanis from a hotel and had them from our homestay before we left the place.
We said goodbye to our host Alok and clicked a selfie with him as he was one of the nicest host we ever met on journeys like this.
Back to Thuravur, Alappuzha
As the roads were not crowded we covered Kollam pretty fast but as we reached Alappuzha only after sundown, the travel after Alappuzha Bypass was pretty slow. We had a few stops on the way to make sure that we stayed hydrated and maintained the presence of mind throughout the ride. I felt sleepy at the start but a few stops and coffee made me active.
Before 9 we reached our home at Thuravoor, Alappuzha. we decide to halt there for one more day as we were tired. The journey was so good we collected a lot of nice memories and witnessed some grand events too. Our Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav ride thus came to an end.
Our Azadi ka Amrit Amahotsav Experience!
Like our Munnar – Marayoor Ride, we loved this one as there were many unique experiences. As we saw the state’s independence ceremony next we wish to see the country’s official independence day parade and ceremonies in Red Fort, Delhi. Hope it happens someday too.
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