File:Odathil Mosque Thalasserry.jpg

English: The Garden Mosque - Odathil Mosque Thalassery

Located at the heart of Thalassery town, the 19th century mosque is at the centre of a large open space filled with greenery. The garden was originally a sugarcane plantation ‘ karimbin-odam’, owned by the Dutch. Moosakaka, the prominent trader and personality of Thalassery and the prominent member of the ‘Keyi’ family bought this land from the Dutch with the help of English East India company to build a mosque. The timber used for the construction was said to have donated by the Travancore royalty. The mosque is a rectangular building with a passage running along the periphery defining an outer space,’ purathepalli’ (outer mosque) which is roofed by a sloping lean to roof supported from the structure of the inner core. The inner core is a double storied structure with the ground floor consisting of a portico and an inner chamber. The Mihrab is at the Western wall of the inner chamber. The inner chamber has 11 doors, 4 on North and South sides, 3 on East and 2 on the West. The upper storey is made all of wood, the floor, sides and roof structure. There are deep wooden benches on the periphery with the wooden trellis supported of curved wooden brackets, typical of the Kerala style. The benches were used by visitors and students for sleeping and the floor to keep study materials and personal belongings. The design of the mosque weighs heavily on orthogonal geometry. The plan form is rectangular. The roof, ceilings, openings and all architectural elements are of straight lines and right angles. Curvilinear lines, arches and floral motifs are almost absent. The whole design imparts a quality of the abstract; of timelessness and purity. The spatial structure of the mosque is distinct from that of Kerala temples. The plan-form suggests congregation and collective payer which is drastically different from the spatiality of the temples. The one structure which may resemble this plan form may the ‘Koothambalam’, which again is based on the activity of congregation. The mosque and property is preserved in pristine condition. Very little change is done to the original structure. However a new two storey structure, which sadly fails to sympathise to the architectural quality of the mosque, is added close to the Eastern side to address the need of more space. This new structure almost blocks the entire East side, which is the prime characteristic facade of the building with its exquisite wooden gables and the crowning minaret with golden crown finials. The mosque is currently undergoing renovation. The damaged wooden work is being replaced and the copper roofing plates are being finished and coated.

Odathil mosque is a gem in the architectural history of Kerala with its originality and purity of language. I wish the custodians of the mosque continue to preserve the structure and property and explore the possibility of replace the Eastern addition with a new structure which open up the main facade and goes well spatially and architecturally to the original structure and meets the fictional needs of the community.- TM Cyriac