Cliff House is the

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

of the

Chief Minister of Kerala The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Fol ...

, located at Nanthancode in the state capital

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. The Cliff House is part of Cliff House compound, which houses four other ministerial residences and is located within the state ministerial residential zone. However, the house is a statutory-only official residence, as Indian laws and protocols do not stipulate that ministers live in any particular residence; rather the law defines the minister's actual residence, whether owned privately or by government, as the official residence. Cliff House is preferred as official residence by most of Chief Ministers of Kerala.

History

Cliff House was constructed during the monarchy days of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

as the official residence of ''Diwan Peshkar'' (Secretary of the state) in charge of Devaswom affairs. Since the headquarters of Travancore Devaswom Office was commissioned at Nanthancode, it was decided to construct official residence of the Peshkar near to it. Post independence, the state PWD took over the house and surrounding land and refurnished as state Guest house. In 1956, it was reclassified as a ministerial residence. When Kerala was formed in 1957, the first Chief Minister, E. M. S. Namboodiripad chose the house as his official residence, citing its location advantage, instead of Ross House which were used by Chief Ministers of Travancore-Cochin. Most of the Chief Ministers, choose Cliff House as their official residence, primarily motivated by its location. The house rose into a cult status as a center of power, during tenure of K. Karunakaran as Chief Minister. Since 1979, the house has unbroken history of being official residence of Kerala Chief Minister

The Compound

The 4.2 acre campus known as Cliff House Compound, houses the main structure known as Cliff House apart from 4 other ministerial residence. The other 4 ministerial residences; ''Ushus, Ashoka, Nest, Pournami'' shares common facilities of the compound.

The House

The two storied Cliff House is built in traditional Kerala architecture with slight influences of colonial English styles. The house has a built up space of 15,000 sqft with 7 bedrooms apart from other quarters for official ministerial staff. Like any other Indian Official residences, no office facility is located inside the house as the house is meant for purely private use of Chief Minister and his family. However a conference room is there inside Cliff House, mainly meant for informal meetings, though no cabinet meetings have ever been conducted here. The house has 4 large verandas, with East Veranda being the largest. East Room is the main formal room where guests are welcomed, though, there are 2 other private formal rooms. A private office, library room, conference room and private staff offices are located in east side. A private living room and dining room are located in west side along other rooms. Most of the bedrooms are located in second floor. Quarters for Ministerial staff like private secretaries, assistants, security staff etc. are built outside the main house

The Exterior

Cliff House compound is spread around 4.2 acres which also includes other ministerial residences. There is no formal gardens inside Cliff House, though a small lawn is well maintained in Eastern side where private tea-parties are conducted. A large part of land is used for farming, started during second tenure of E. K. Nayanar. K. Karunakaran's wife Kalyani ensured that a large vegetable garden is there in Cliff house for their private use, during Karunakaran's tenure as Chief Minister. During tenure of A. K. Antony as Chief Minister, he was much interested in setting a banana farm. After K. Karunakaran met accident in early 1990s, a swimming pool was commissioned as advised by doctors for his better health. A security office is located inside the facility to garrison security officials.

History

The Compound

The House

The Exterior

See also

References

Further reading