A palace steeped in history

When one walks through the narrow streets of Vitla, a small town about 40 km from Mangaluru, a lot seemed to have been fit in a pocket-sized town. While the town’s sights fascinated me, I  was here for another reason: I was on my way to the palace of Vitla, popularly called Vitla Aramane, that was located away from the town’s hustle and bustle. I came here with my friend who is a close relative of Vitla’s royal family.

After driving through the countryside for a bit, the palace soon came into the picture. When we entered, Nanda Verma, a descendant of the royal family (Heggade dynasty), greeted us. Afterwards, I was introduced to Arasa Janardhana Verma, the current family head.

Intricate designs

The palace, rebuilt in 1800 after the destruction of the older one, is more like a traditional house. If you go in quest of the old palace, which is only metres away, all you will find are steps interspersed with grass. The rest of the space has been used for developing areca plantation. The steps of both old and present palace have beautiful elephant carvings on both sides.

The family members had their sculptor Neelakanta Acharya chisel the house, including the four tall pillars in the front, window paintings and the carved wooden doors. After the tenure of Neelkanta, it is said that his heirs kept the work going in the palace. Nanda Verma particularly showed us the carving of the thick wooden ceiling that bore exquisite designs that would leave one captivated.

The palace has sheltered about 100 family members and more in the earlier times. Now, around 60 people live in the palace that has 30 rooms.

We later went on to explore some utility items that were used on a daily basis in the days of yore. There was a lofty lantern, made of rock, that was put out in the grass-covered front yard. Upon a closer look, we saw an inscription on it. I assumed the language as Malayalam.

However, I was corrected by Arasa Janardhana Verma, who said that it was a Tulu inscription. It stated that lighting the lantern during festival nights will bring home a great deal of wealth.

Next, we were taken to the room where Goddess Durga, the family’s deity, was placed. At the back of the room, there was a palanquin in which kings and queens were taken to temples.

We then moved to a courtyard-like area, which was a common ground unfolding to four adjacent walls. The members inside appeared to have been living a normal lifestyle. There were two or three rooms in the lower level, while the rest were upstairs. Most of the rooms were tiny and had small pillared windows.

We then moved outside to the hall. In the hall were photographs of Verma family members. There were also frames of several agreements that were made at different periods of time with various states and foreign people. One of them was a statement where pension was extended by the British to the Vitla dynasty after Tipu Sultan devastated the old palace.

When Nanda Verma narrated stories linked to this nearly-forgotten palace, some of the family members had joined in listening and shared their bits too. Grateful for the time spent at the palace, I left hoping to visit the place again.