SOCIAL PROJECT

Hill palace
 Hill Palace is an archaeological museum and palace located in the 
Tripunithura neighbourhood of Kochi city in the Indian state of Kerala. It is
the largest archeological museum in the state and was the imperial
administrative office and official residence of the Cochin Maharaja. Built in
1865, the palace complex consists of 49 buildings in the traditional
architectural style, spreading across 54 acres (220,000 m2). The complex
has an archaeological museum, a heritage museum, a deer park, a pre-
historic park and a children’s park.[1] The campus of the museum is home to
several rare species of medicinal plants. Presently the palace has been
converted into a museum by The Kerala State Archaeology Department and
is open to public. The palace is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the city
centre and is approachable by road and rail.
The Centre for Heritage Studies (CHS), an autonomous research and
training institute set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs, 
Government of Kerala also functions at the site. CHS is designated as the
'Manuscript Conservation Centre' (MCC) and Manuscript Resource Centre
(MRC) by the National Mission for Manuscripts.
 HISTORY
Hill Palace was built in 1865 by the Maharaja Of Cochin and is now the largest archaeological
museum in Kerala.[3]
The official capital of Kingdom of Kochi was located previously in Thrissur and the royal office of
Maharaja as well as the court was all located in the city. However, as per ritualistic customs, the
seat of Queen of Kochi (Penvazhithampuran) was seen as Royal capital as Kochi royal family had
matrilineal traditions and the queen was regarded as sovereign of the state under whose authority
the King ruled. Since 1755, the Queen and her retinue lived in Tripunithura, thereby making the
city as official capital. Also the Prince Rama Varma was raised in Tripunithura, thereby preferred
to live in the city even after coronation as King, rather moving to Thrissur. Thus for his benefit, a
royal office was constructed in 1865. Initially it started off as royal office, court building and
offices of royal secretaries and nobles of the court, soon more and more structures were added to
main structure to various purposes. Soon, an imperial residence building was also constructed for
the residence of the King and his immediate family though other members of Cochin Royal family
had their own allocated bungalows and official residences.
The palace was handed over to the Government of Kerala by the Cochin Royal Family and in
1980, the palace was taken over by the Department of Archaeology and later converted into a
museum. It was opened to the public in 1986. The museum and its campus is one among the
popular shooting sites for the Malayalam film industry. The Horse cart gallery and Weapons
gallery houses a lot of historical artifacts.
The museum gardens are also some of the last green refuge of the town. A checklist of fauna
found within the gardens, prepared by Sandeep Varma and Gokul Vinayan, has been published
under the title 'The Fauna of Hill Palace'
 MESUEM
The museum displays 14 categories of exhibits including Crown and
ornaments of erst while Cochin royal family, paintings, sculptures in
stone and marble, weapons, inscriptions, coins etc. The major share
of attractions in this museum are contributed by the 
Cochin Royal Family with some exhibits from the Paliam Devaswom
and the department of Archaeology. It has a gold crown embedded
with precious stones and many valuable coins, ornaments, majestic
beds and samples of epigraphy. The famous Malayalam movie 
Manichitrathazhu was shot here.
The Palace is open to public everyday from 10 AM to 12.30 PM and 2
PM to 5 PM except Mondays and national/state holidays.
 IN THE MEDIA
The Hill Palace has been the location for many 
films in Malayalam. Manichitrathazhu being the most
famous movie shot at this location, many film makers have
utilized this place for shooting purpose. Some of the popular
films