Thalavoor Thrikkonnamarkodu Durga Devi Temple Kalathattu

Kalithattu (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: കളിത്തട്ട്) is a type of wayside public rest house in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and surrounding regions in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Kalithattu are public rest-house built in villages, towns, agriculture fields and near temples for locals, pilgrims, travelers, and traders to rest. In villages, it was used by those involved in agriculture, long-distance travelers to relieve fatigue and locals to attend cultural meetings. Kalithattus are traditionally built from wood, they have wooden pillars, wooden floors and sloping roofs with two gables. Kalithattu shares common origin with rest-houses like

Ambalama An ambalama ( Sinhala: අම්බලම) is a place constructed for pilgrims, traders and travellers to rest in Sri Lanka. This is a simple structure designed to provide shelter for the travellers. The last examples of anbalange remained unti ...

s of Sri Lanka and Patis of Nepal. According to

Anuradha Seneviratna Anuradha Seneviratna (July 13, 1938 - July 9, 2009) was a Sri Lankan scholar. He wrote many scholarly works and was a Senior Professor in the Department of Sinhala, University of Peradeniya. He has also worked in University of Colombo and was the D ...

and

Benjamin Polk 280px, Narayanhity Palace Museum (formerly Narayanhity Royal Palace) in Nepal.html" ;"title="Kathmandu, Nepal">Kathmandu, Nepal Benjamin Kauffman Polk (18 May 1916 – 23 April 2001) was an American designer and architect, best known for his ...

rest-houses like these were well established before 230 BC as

Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

kings issued orders carved on stones or iron columns for planting of avenues of trees and for building shelters for the comfort of pilgrims.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Kerala

See also

References