Napier Museum
The Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital city of Kerala, India.
Garden at Napier Museum
History
The museum was established in 1855. In 1874, the old Museum Building was demolished and foundation for the new building was laid. The new building was named after Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras from 1866-1872.
Design
The architectural masterpiece was designed by Robert Chisholm, the consulting Architect of the Madras Government, and the construction was completed in 1880. Napier Museum is a landmark in the city with its unique ornamentation and architectural style with gothic roof and minarets. The Indo-Saracenic structure also boasts a natural air conditioning system.
Museum seen from right
Features
The museum houses a rare collection of archaeological and historic artifacts, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings. It also contains the Sree Chitra Art Gallery, which contains works from Raja Ravi Varma and Nicholas Roerich, as well as examples of Mughal and Tanjore art.
The Museum grounds also hold the famous Trivandrum Zoo, which is one of the oldest zoological gardens in India. This Zoo was established in 1857 and is spread over 55 acres (220,000 m2) of land.
Kowdiar Palace
Kowdiar Palace In Trivandrum, Kerala, India was built in 1934 by Maharajah Sree Chithira Thirunal, on Pallikettu (wedding) of his only sister, Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi with Lt. Col. G. V. Raja. After the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, the properties and estates of the royal family were partitioned and divided equally among the branches of the two Travancore Queens, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi. This Palace belongs to the heirs of Sethu Parvathi Bayi as it was built by her son Maharajah Sree Chithira Thirunal.
Kowdiar Palace's architectural work is famous and has over 150 rooms. The entry to this palace is restricted as it is the private residence of the royal family settled in Thiruvananthapuram.
Kowdiar Palace, Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram Zoo
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo (also known as Trivandrum Zoo) is located in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India. It occupies 55 acres (22 ha) of woodland, lakes, and lawns.
History
Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is one of the oldest of its kind in India. Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, who ruled Travancore between 1830 and 1847, established a menagerie where royal tigers, panthers, cheetahs, deer, boar, and other wild animals were kept. His brother Uthram Thirunal and British Resident William Cullen formally establish the zoo in 1857 as an annex to the Napier Museum. The zoo was originally built with the typical iron-barred cages prevalent at the time, and was designed for recreational purposes, but with increased loss of forest and wildlife due to human development, the goal of the Zoo has changed from recreation to conservation.
A Collage of animals at Thiruvananthapuram zoo. Counter clockwise from top : Indian Leopard, Rhesus Monkey, Lesser Adjutant, Lion Tailed Macaque.
Animals
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is home to 82 species from around the world. Indigenous species at the zoo include lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, royal Bengal tiger, white tigerand leopard, as well a nine Asian elephants (as of March 31, 2009).Animals from Africa include giraffes, hippos, zebras, and Cape buffalos.
Birds
- Ostrich
- Scarlet macaw
- Green winged macaw
- Indian peafowl
- White spoonbill
- Cassowary
- Sulphur crested cockatoo
- Common crane
- White necked crane
- Black necked crane
- Grey heron
- White ibis
- Blossom headed parakeet
- Roseringed parakeet
- Alexandrine parakeet
- Moutached parakeet
- Gray pelican
- Rosy pelican
- Silver pheasant
- Ring necked pheasant
- Rock dove
- Adjutant stork
- Painted stork
- White stork
- White necked stork
- Black necked stork
- Cinerous vulture
- King vulture
- White Backed vulture
- Pariah kite
- Brahminy kite
- Emu
Reptiles
- Anaconda
- Gharial
- Mugger crocodile
- Spectacled caiman
- Monitor lizard
- Bamboo pit viper
- Indian cobra
- Indian rock python
- Rat snake
- Russell's viper
- Checkered keelback
- King cobra
- Red sandboa
- Green tree snake
- Indian flapshell turtle
- Indian black turtle
- Crowned river turtle
- Travancore tortoise
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