Asoka Hospital stands as a prominent landmark to the residents of Kozhikode, owing to its roots in the history of the city. Established in 1930, the hospital has had several patrons at its helm, beginning with Dr. VI Raman and his wife Janaki. Since their time, the reins of the management of the hospital were passed down through generations of the family, and hence it is categorized as a privately-owned establishment.
As is with age-old buildings, the origins of its design and architecture are postulated through written accounts, books, and articles, as well as anecdotes shared by distant relatives.
In light of this, it would be possible to speculate that the European style tiles that occupy the entrance to the building, could have been imported.
The style chosen through the tiles and the flooring is complemented by the European-style fountain, an otherwise-rare structure in hospitals around Kozhikode. The fountain is hedged in between a garden, which was at one point at the receiving end of fertilizer derived from the biodegradable waste that was generated at the hospital, a recycling system implemented before the days of waste disposal management systems. Unlike the common structures sketched out for hospitals, Asoka encompasses semblances of aspects generally observed in the architecture of houses. The naalukettu structure, typical to Kerala homes, seen inside the hospital exemplifies this feature.
Asoka displays a fusion of inspirations from multiple cultures. Keeping with its established reputation in gynecology, the hospital building is also punctuated with statues of mother and child, adding to the features unusual to the architecture of local hospitals.
A significant feature that the general public associates with Asoka is its frontier, with its iconic clock tower. Facing the road at the edge of which Asoka stands, the clock tower has been a prominent symbol in the visual reservoir of Kozhikode, reiterating the atypical hospital architecture Asoka is analogous with. With no concrete record of its installation, the clock tower has embedded intricate systems that function, quite literally, like clockwork.
What could have potentially once been a boon for the hospital is now the bane of their existence–its location. Facing the threat of demolition in 2008 when the government proposed
the plan for road-widening, the Asoka family fought for its retention. In addition to the laws that state the need for a building to have existed for 100 years as a requisite to be considered as a historical property, its private ownership sealed its fate of demolition. January 15th, 2023 marked the last functioning day for the hospital.
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