A Jaunt in Chettinad

 For a place that does not exist on a Map , Chettinad has done quite nicely for itself , earning widespread fame for its Cuisine , Sarees and Palatial mansions.

The region of Sivagangai Seemai was the Marava Kingdom of Pandyas in older times and part of Ramnad Kingdom in Colonial times . The folk lore is full of heroes of the soil , Velu Nachiar , Maruthu brothers  etc. But as Chettinad today, it  is all about the mercantile stalwarts , the Chettiyars , who migrated Eastward in the 19th century , seeking fortune . They  wielded considerable clout in Burma , Malaya, Malacca etc . Awesome to learn that seed money for a lot of British and Chinese enterprises in Far East during late 19th and early 20th centuries, came from those enterprising Chettiyars.  Fat ledgerbooks with meticulous entries , receipts, bank notes , legal papers from those times can be seen in the Chettiyar Heritage Museum. Not to forget the  heavy , fire proof iron Safes that once held their  fabled wealth. 

 Back home , they lived it up too . Oh , those Mansions ! Each one covering a whole 1 to 2 Acre block !  Aged between 150 and 80 years.  Lavish interiors - "Burma Teak and Belgium Glass " being the proverbial must-haves . And of course the mind blowing Athangudi Tiles for the floors -every single tile , made by hand. The prefix "NattuKottai" to the name Chettiyar reflects the fact that these mansions resembled  "Fortresses on Land" .

 Base : Kanadukathan

Many mansions in Kanadukathan are maintained as ticketed showpieces now and visitors can wander around, gawking, everywhere except the few locked rooms. And there is plenty to take in from the floor to the ceiling.

All mansions rise immediately from the street , with no intervening patch of  garden. And all mansions have stucco figures of Gods /Goddesses on the arched entrance , Lakshmi being the most popular ornament. A few  have soldiers and policemen with dogs , planted above eaves , on the flanks ! 

The doorframe of the portal to the main house , was where the owner could show off his taste or status . Such intricately carved jambs and lintels - top class artistry ! Another pointer of status was the number of windows it seems. More windows ( with those inescapable multicolored glass panels on top) meant more prestige . Ayiram Jannal Veedu ( House of A Thousand Windows) in Karaikkudi  is most famous - or , was . Today it is a forlorn , crumbling ruin , neither converted into a commercially viable site , nor maintained for private use. 

Other than the immensely tall Burma teak pillars , houses also have masonry pillars , coated with a lime plaster that is smooth and shiny as marble . Lasting to this day . The walls too sport the same quality of "Karai" ( Lime coating) that , reportedly , gave the name  "Karai-Kudi"  ( Houses of Lime ) or Karaikkudi , to the biggest and busiest City of Chettinad. The recipe for this wonderful lime coating required many additional ingredients like egg shells , tamarind seeds , jaggery , aloe-vera , fenugreek seeds etc. and the mixture had to be thoroughly ground till creamy.  

Some mansions have wall paintings , above the long windows and  above the cornices and parapets . The subjects range from Indian Mythology ,  pretty women , floral wreaths , European winged cherubs and the new inventions of the time, like the steam engine and airplane. 

Chettiyars of yore lived in joint families of course , so halls(koodam), porches( thinnai) and rooms were sprawling spaces . There were no designated bedrooms . People slept anywhere , according to dictates of the weather . One constant feature is the open-to -the-sky courtyard ( Valavu) in the middle of the house . This is a great provision for receiving plenty of  sun-light and fresh air. 

One interesting piece of woodwork is a bank of tall cupboards , arrayed against an entire wall of an inner hall , from floor to roof . This, said the resident staff,  was for storing the bed rolls , sheets , mats and pillows ! 

 All the opulence seem to stop at the third "kattu" . From here, everything is utterly plain and purely functional .  The kitchen with the Kottai Aduppus ( firewood stoves - with no chimney !) , the gigantic grinding stones , storage bays , washing areas . And to think the Aachis had to spend most of their time in such a place overseeing the toiling servants ! Speaking of servants , it must have taken an army of them to keep a single mansion going. Each mansion a Feudal Estate by itself. 

Kanadukathan has many mansions in good condition . Besides the ticketed showpieces , some  are converted into Hotels , Shops , restaurants . Some have been modernised . Some are weathered and frayed , but still inhabited. The biggest mansion , The Kanadukathan Palace ( no entry without prior permit) , gloriously huge , bright and awe-inspiring, is the centerpiece of this town . 

The town is swarming with tourists . It feels like an unreal town , because ordinary life of common folk,  is not detected anywhere . It is like a Chettiyar Theme Park ! Or should we say , Instagram-Paradise ? Cannot pass through any street  without encountering  tourist hoards and random groups of  costumed  people with an entourage of photographers and assistants ( that white umbrella ! ) . One or the other more famous mansions regularly pop  up in Southern movies and tele serials. 

Though Chettiyars are celebrated for their shrewd business acumen , they are also respected  as selfless philanthropists and epitomes of piety . Most temples of Tamil Nadu  suffered neglect after all Royal patronage dried up thanks  first to the Colonisers , then to abolition of Monarchy post-Independence. They were resurrected and restored to dignity solely by the Nagarathars , aka Chettiyars. The devout  Chettiyars themselves are divided into a system of 9 Temple-based Clans . 

Visited two of the nine Temples : Pillaiyarpatti and Vairavanpatti , both maintained in spic and span condition and movement of devotees organised most efficiently . The  rock-cut , two- armed , 6ft high , seated Ganesha of Pillaiyarpatti , a Pandyan creation , is said to be the oldest Ganesha murti in South India. Also visited a picturesque Ayyanar temple , Solai Andavar Kovil, which has hundreds of  Terracotta horses ( a few  cows and elephants too) stationed all around the shrine. These are votive offerings for the Ayyanar , who "rides around the town every night , protecting it". 

Karaikkudi is the only Site in Tamil Nadu that is included in the World Monuments Watch   ( year 2008) . The Watch is a worldwide tool for raising awareness about heritage spaces in need of protection and conservation with active participation of the local community. 

The geography of this land is pretty harsh . Does not look fertile for growing crops. Could be one reason for heirs of the estates moving away to more promising shores, starting from the 1940s , selling off the bungalows.   And letting the unsold bungalows go to seed . Or to Antique shops . Apparently , everything from the magnificent Teak pillars and doorframes to  Burmese Lacquerware and Venetian chandeliers to chipped enamel teacups and rusted locks  are avidly bought by these antique dealers . The Cabbie shared this interesting bit : "All the wood that is salvaged is 100% re-purposed, first  into cabinets , tables , doors etc , the left over smaller pieces made into handles, drawer-knobs, photo frames etc, and the tiniest chips  as pegs for driving in nails , finally  the shavings and saw dust sold as fuel ! "

Such thrift is surely inborn . Remembering here, something Mother would say while reminiscing about  Chettiyars from her childhood . The Aachis , who  had personal wealth of gold that was proverbially measured in Padis (Padi :  a measuring can that holds roughly 1.3Kg grain ) were not averse to sitting in the backyard of their bungalows , stripping the spine from coconut fronds to make some useful brooms ! 

 The Workshops :  Athangudi tiles are handmade the hard way , as a cottage industry.  Every  street has a workshop. Machinery is limited to the hand-cranked mixer-drums in which  colors are blended. It is , no doubt, highly educative to watch a tile taking shape , step by step . It is also unsettling to learn that they work all 7 days a week , 8 or 9 hours a day . There are as many women as men , working the Cement + MSand mix with bare hands , breathing in the dry cement as they dust the final layers . People who say these tiles are too  expensive should understand why . But, can only wonder, how much of the price fetched goes into those work worn hands and how much into the factory owner's account. No one is telling you . 

Similar back breaking work goes into the hand Looms that produce the GI Tagged Kandangi Sarees. Checks are the ever popular design. The other popular Chettinad craft , Basketry , is  a little less physically demanding , but requires utmost skill with fingers . The colourful Kottans  are truly irresistible !

PS : The Food . I guess, being vegetarian automatically disqualifies one from giving any review of this much vaunted  "rich, flavourful cuisine".  The paniyarams , uppu-seeyams,  kai mandi and paruppuvadais are very tasty , but two shades too spicy for me. They do love Chillis , dont they !