We are at Kanadukathan, 80 Kilometres from Trichy, off NH 536 in Tamil Nadu. This nondescript town with a tongue twister for a name has been designated the Chettinad Heritage Village, showcasing the Chettinad architecture, culture and cuisine.
Chettinad was created by Chettiars, a clan of merchants, traders and moneylenders of the Chola times, who sailed to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Far East, trading in spices, gems and rice and lived in the port city of Kaverpoonpattinam (today’s Poompoohar), until one day, a huge tsunami ravaged their settlement. The Chettiars moved their families inland to a cluster of villages around Karaikudi, Pudukottai, Athangudi and Kanadukathan, forming what is now known as Chettinad - Land of Chettiars. Recognising the unique cultural and architectural heritage of the mansions built by the community between 1850 and 1940, this cluster was added in 2014, to the Tentative List of the UNESCO (which is a stepping stone to being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) as “ Chettinad - Village Clusters of Tamil Merchants.”
The North East Monsoon has set in and despite the pleasant afternoon weather, the streets of Kanadukathan appear deserted. We soon find Lotus Palace, familiar from the travel magazines. Since Lotus Palace has been converted a hotel, it is not open to public viewing. Across the street, however, stands C.V.R.M House, an old mansion open for public viewing. We climb its stone steps into a huge hall spanning the width of the mansion. A raised platform or thinnai runs along one side and tall teak almirahs line the other. The platform has thick columns with ornate bases and tops. An elaborate swing dominates one end of the hall. A huge wooden door with intricate woodwork along its jambs gives access to the interior of the house.
On the thinnai sits a simply-dressed dear old lady with a receipt book and a welcoming smile. Visalakshi R.M was all of 16 years, when she entered this house as a bride of the descendant of Venkatachalam Chettiar who built this house. Now in her seventies, she has not seen the people who built this house or even two subsequent generations, yet she carries the legacy with a quiet pride.
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The Telegraph Machine “This is one of the few mansions to have a telegram machine” she says pointing to a contraption |
on the wall that transports us straight back into the 1800s. “Accountants and Book keepers would sit on the platform and maintain accounts. When Ayya (Venkatachala Chettiar) would sit on the swing, the goddess would speak to him. We don’t sit on it out of respect. The columns Italian granite and the door carved out of Burma teak. The mirror and chandeliers are Belgian glass.” says Visalakshi proudly. We pay the nominal fifty rupee fee per head and step across the ornate doorway into the inner quarters built around an open-to-sky courtyard. There are raised platforms on either side served as parlours for receiving guests. Here, Belgian glass-fronted, teak almirahs show case the souvenirs and treasures brought back from various overseas journeys. The walls, plastered with limestone powder and crushed egg shells, have retained the gloss even today. Floors are finished with red oxide or Athangudi tiles, set together to make intricate geometrical patterns.
the courtyard lies a huge kitchen with stone fire places and grinding stones embedded in the ground.
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Almost every Chettinad house follows the same design, varying only in size. Since the men of the family were away on voyages for long periods, they ensured the safety of their women and children by the entire extended family staying together for which, they built huge mansions for the extended family. Karaikudi actually has a mansion with has a thousand windows. An amble away stands the Palace of the Rajah of Chettinad, closed to the public. Its delicate yet elaborately exterior looks almost sculpted from sugar. Behind it, VVR House is open to visitors. Freshly painted and varnished, it looks more like a film set, though it is an authentic Chettinad Mansion, complete with the entire set of Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Maintaining these large mansions today is expensive. CVRM House and VVR House rent their spaces for pre-wedding shoots; larger properties are leased out to hotel chains and restaurants.However, many mansions are in disrepair either because owners lacked the commercial acumen to generate income from them, or the family members have left Chettinad to earn a living. Some are forced to sell family heirlooms at a pittance, either to the antique shops or to the interior decorators who use them for themed houses in cities.
Saturated with Mansion hopping we sample the spicy Chettinad cuisine and visit some old weaving establishments, another icon of Chettinad Heritage.We are taken on a tour of the traditional looms where artisans hand-weave fine fabric distinguished by the characteristic peacock and Rudraksha motifs , now sold at tourist-driven prices.
As we leave Kanadukathan we were acutely conscious of a legacy that only few know of and only fewer can afford to experience now. Only time can tell whether Chettinad’s Heritage becomes a vanishing legacy or a carefully preserved treasure.
