We went to visit a 15th century wooden palace today. The visit started with us having to take our shoes off. We had to walk around the entire palace in bare feet. Our guide said that this was to protect the uniquely finished floor. However, we soon learned that we lost our shoes whenever we entered a place considered “special” or “holy”. This apparently applies to many buildings.
The palace was made almost entirely of teak. It was beautiful and huge! We spent at least 2 hours wandering through the rooms. Our guide told us the purpose of every room. The maharajahs that lived in this palace were very wealthy, but generous. They fed up to 2000 people every day. They gave food to the poets, philosophers and other aristocratic people. The served primarily vegetarian food and lots of rice. We saw the place where they drained the rice (see picture). One guy would stand where the foot spots were elevated on the floor. Another two guys would tip the pot using the front rocks while holding the lid on so that the water would come out but not the rice. A pulley contraption held the huge steaming pot in place.
The palace was full of wood and stone carvings. Every carving had a symbolic purpose. It was fascinating that the carvings were still visible after all these years. We saw the ruler’s bedroom complex. He slept on the second floor of his tower. He attended to his business dealings on the floor below that and used the third floor for meditation and prayer. He was supposed to make sure that he put his responsibilities to his people and God in the right perspective (God above man above money). Kerala was a matriarchal society so the women owned the property and inheritances passed from the Maharajah’s eldest sister to her eldest nephew. This way the ruler was always male, but you always knew who his mom was, who his dad was did not matter too much. The Maharajah never got married so he did not ever risk breaking up his kingdom or having his wife’s family take over.
The picture of the stone on a pillar was a test for admission to the palace guard. You had to be able to pick up the stone, place it on the ground and then put it back sixteen times. This was the original strong man competition. 
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