Antique collector comes out with letter

KOCHI: Anything royal and antique is valuable. Even as the discovery of the huge treasure inside the chambers of Padmanabha Swamy temple is making news, an antique collector from the city has come out with an original letter written by the Maharaja of Travancore Balarama Varma(Chithira Thirunal) to the Zamorin of Calicut, K C Vana Vikraman Raja.The letter dated February 20, 1953, thanks the Zamorin for the hospitality accorded by the Zamorin's family, when the Travancore Maharaja and his family visited Guruvayur. Dr Ajikumar, a Kochibased dentist, a bigtime antique collector who possesses the letter, reveals how the letter came into his possession. "I have been collecting antiques for several years and happened to meet a member of the Royal family who was a patient of my friend. The lady was Padinjare Marath Nandini Vijayaraghavan, the daughter of Zamorin's elder son Padiyath Unnikrishnan Nair(Kottakkal), who was also his secretary. As I am an antique collector, she gifted the letter to me, when I visited her. She had a photo of the Royal family and a letter written from one king to the other." According to Dr Ajikumar, normally it is difficult to get such communication documents as these are logged in with the official papers. He also possesses the original family photograph of the Maharaja Chithirathirunal along with his mother Amma Maharani Sethu Lekshmi Bai, brother Marthanda Varma, sister Karthika Thirunal Thampuratty and her three children, including the young Elaya Thampuran. The two kingdoms were enemies for a long time. The photo was taken when the Maharaja and his family visited Guruvayur temple for 'Kazhchavekkal' with 101 gold coins. They were were hosted by the Zamorin of Calicut and his sons, during the visit. "During those days, the king who was the host did not come out to greet their guests. The host would wait in the durbar and the guests will be escorted inside. This photo was taken in front of the Zamorin's palace in Guruvayur in 1952. Later, on returning, the Travancore Maharaja sent a copy of the photo to the Zamorin," says Dr Ajikumar.