East fort is called the heart and nerve center of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) City. It is the center of various arts and cultural programmes. The name East fort is derived from the massive forts which surrounds the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

Major Landmarks:

The major landmarks include Government offices like Taluk Office, RTO office, Pattom Thanu Pillai Park, Sanskrit School, Attankulangara Government Central School, Gandhi Park, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Chalai Bazar and Attakulangara Jail. Various Jewellery shops like Joy Alukkas, Josco, Bhima, Kalyan, Malabar Gold etc.  Other business centers like Pothys, Kalyan Silks, Jayalakshmi Silks and Big Bazaar.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple:  

The most important outstanding in East fort is Padmanabhaswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu.  This is the only place where 18 feet long deity is seen. Here one can see the huge idol with head on Southern side, feet towards North and navel with Lord Brahma in the middle. The long deity is seen as lying on a serpent called “Anantha”. The kings of Travancore ruled the land as the servants of Lord Padmanabha.

On the way to the temple “Methan Mani” can see. It is a special clock depicted a man’s face with two goats on either side. Near the temple we can see old Brahmins house. There are also small and big palaces which are once used by the members of Travancore. Kuthiramalika Palace situated near the temple is now open to the public as a museum. Paintings, Wood carvings and personal collections of the royal family are the main items of displaay.

Gandhi Park:

Gandhi Park is situated in front of the fort, is a popular spot for taking rest and conducting various arts programmes. The Park is about 5,000 square meters in area and in the southern end we can see a Gandhi Statue.

Putharikandam Maidanam:

Putharikandam maidanam is opposite to East fort that hosts political rallies and speeches of political leaders. It is once a large Paddy field.  Puthari means newly reaped rice and kandam means field. Now it is place for various exhibitions of kudumbashree, Vanitha, Malayalamanorama etc.

Chalai Bazaar:

Chalai Bazaar is a market spread through 2 km where there is nothing that is not available under the Sun. The busiest place of fruits, vegetables, dress materials, silver, gold and large fish can be seen only here. City Bus station is in front of the market and railway station is 1 km near the fort.

Article Posted By : Minijayan  On June 23, 2014lView All Articles

The Palaces near the fort marks the traditional and western style of architecture.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/east-fort--heart-of-trivandrum-city-article-3154.htm

Keywords :
Trivandrum , East Fort