The Heritage Walk members also spent time at the War Memorial, an edifice that stands in the middle of a busy junction. But very few people know what it signifies.
Every Sunday, the members of Heritage Walk — including students, government employees, scientists and IT professionals — turn archaeologists as they attempt to explore the city’s labyrinth of bylanes and unearth fascinating stories about the city’s rich past. This Sunday, they trekked through one of the busiest parts of the city in Palayam, from the CSI Christ Church to the University Stadium, stopping along the way at the church cemetery, the War Memorial, and the OTC Hanuman Temple.
Because there was a mass going on, the walkers were unable to investigate the inside of the church complex in detail. It is one of the oldest Anglican church structures in the city, said to have been formally consecrated in 1859.
Memorial’s history
The Heritage Walk members also spent time at the War Memorial, an edifice that stands in the middle of a busy junction. But very few people know what it signifies. The structure is in memory of the men who were recruited from the erstwhile Travancore and lost their lives, “in service of the Empire during The Great War, 1914 to 1921.”
Moving on from the memorial, the group headed to the OTC Hanuman temple when the abbreviated OTC was expanded for the first time to many. “OTC stands for Officers Training Corps and the temple is known as such because it was built right next to the OTC building, the remnants of which still stand,” said archaeologist Elizabeth Thomas Tharakan, the coordinator of Heritage Walk.
The group headed to the high stands of the University Stadium, from where it was evident that this spot was important a century ago as well considering the age of the buildings around — the State Central Library, the CSI church, and the heritage structures at PMG Junction.
Every time the group congregates, there are new members joining the walk, said Ms. Tharakan. An encouraging sign that there are people in the city with an avid interest in their past. It has been a year since the first walk was held.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Kavya Pradeep Kumar / Thiruvananthapuram – October 27th, 2014