Pachamedu Bungalow, Periyar Valley, Kerala.

This tall steeply pitched masculine, thick columned, sheet roofed, building stands on a site overlooking the Periyar valley, Built in 1922, the bungalow is also knows as Pandavarmedu in reference to the five heroic Pandava brothers from Mahabharata-the great Indian epic by Vyasan. The Pandavas are believed to have spent some time in these woods during their exile; incidentally the first occupants of this house were five in numbers- E.C. Sylvester, his two clerks and two personal servants.

There are five bedrooms in all, two for the guests on the southern side. There are large balconies opening from the bedrooms with a long sight to the valley across. Beyond the woods, on the valley one can see a tea factory, and further deep is the Mount Estate another division by the T.T.E. Company in 1897. The bungalow is surrounded by fruit bearing trees such as butter fruit, grape fruit, masshmelons and many spices, which spreads around the flavors of nature.

As one enters into the premises of the bungalow from the north, driving up a blind curve passing a natural landscape dotted with flower bearing creepers, bushes and plants –giving a wild but enchanting atmosphere to the garden which invites us to be outdoor all the time. Steeping into the hall which opens into a narrow but long corridor, the attention rests upon the thick wooden staircase immaculately done in a spiral style. The contours of the handrails of the staircase are worth a feel.

On the left side of the corridor is a study and on the right is the morning room where one can enjoy the mornings in total privacy. Adjacent to the room, further north is the bay windowed sit out with large French windows, which offer unhindered view of the multi-hued garden margins with the huge trees homing innumerable birds. As one go up the stairs to relax in the huge bedrooms on the southern side of the buildings, one can feel the total comfort and marvel at the grandeur of the neatly laid furniture, made in Victorian or mid-Victorian styles. The immaculately laid wooden floorings is still a rare piece of artistic and architectural workmanship.