The Central Quadrangle...a living witness!!!
The Naalukettu (Quadrangle) is the traditional homestead of the old Tharavadu, a typical Keralite architecture. The traditional architecture is typically a rectangular structure where four halls are joined together with a central courtyard open to the sky. There are passage ways on all four sides. The three-storied Naalukettu of the Seminary has been constructed with fine teak wood using traditional engineering techniques.
Traditional Vasthu was the governing science in this architectural form. The founder of the Seminary Pulikkottil Ittoop Ramban (later Joseph Dionysius II) was an expert in this field. Every side faces the sunlight. The structure provides for excellent ventilation. Temperatures, even in the heat of summer, are markedly lower within the Naalukettu.
The traces of the two hundred year history of the seminary lie within the Naalukettu. The Naalukettu remains to this date as the official seat of the Malankara Metropolitan. The Naalukettu houses individual rooms on the ground and first floors and larger halls on the second floor. The positioning of the Naalukettu is such that it forms a unique singular line all the way from the cross at the old riverside entrance through the centre of the Naalukettu all the way to the centre of the Altar in the Chapel and further on to the cross of the old backside gate (now, the main entrance).
The historical room within the Naalukettu, used as residence by the Malankara Metropolitans now preserves some of the original furniture used by the late Vattasseril Dionysius. This room also stores the palanquin and metal mirror (Aranmula Kannadi) used by Mar Dionysius.
The inbuilt safety locker system which provides strong safety from thefts and natural threats is preserved and maintained as the memoriam of the royal past of the church and the seminary. It was used as a treasure house of the Malankara Metropolitan.
The Naalukettu is the living witness of this day of the remarkable historical evolutions and the social revolutions of the past centuries. It is bulleted information in the history of the Indian education system that the Naalukettu was the first English language training center in Kerala. The nooks and corners of the Naalukettu can claim the sanctity of the impression of the footprints of sain5tly persons namely Vattasseril Mar Dionysius, Gregorios of Parumala, Baselious Geevarghese II and Pampady Kuriakose Mar Gregorios.
According to the authorities of the Archaeological Department of India, the Naalukettu is a national Heritage Site which should be preserved as the hall mark of age old tradition of Nazranis. Even though the structure stands at 200 years, it still stands strong with its head high up in the air.