Chettinad Palace (Actually Homes)
Chettinad is a region of the Sivaganga district of southern Tamil Nadu. Chettinad is rich in cultural heritage, art and architecture, and is well known for its houses, embellished with marble and Burma teak, wide courtyards, spacious rooms, and for its 18th century mansions. Local legend has it that their walls used to be polished with a paste made out of eggwhites to give a smooth texture.
Chettinad is the homeland of the Nattukottai Chettiars (Nagarathar), a prosperous banking and business community, many of whose members migrated to South and Southeast Asia, particularly Ceylon and Burma, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The people of Chettinad speak Tamil.
A view of the artistically carved woodwork frame that support the roof of one of the mansions in Kanadukathan, near Karaikudi, District Sivaganga, Tamilnadu. This is the verandah of the second quadrangle, meant to be used by married sons of the family, the first being meant for receptions and meetings and the last meant for the womenfolk. The central quadrangle is surrounded by verandahs on all sides. Beautiful, carved pillars support the frame which holds the roof of tiles. The opulence and elegance of these famed mansions built around the beginning of the 20th Century have to be seen to believe. Rich and enterprising Chettiars - they themselves prefer to be known as Nagarthars or ‘city dwellers’- spread to many parts of Asia like Burma, Malaya, Singapore, Sri Lanka, etc. in search of riches through trading. Many of the expensive material used in these houses were imported from these places and from Europe. These majestic residences also earned the owners the sobriquet, Nattukottai Chettiars, or those with fort-like houses in the countryside.
The common assembly area, ubiquitous in the Chettinad region, is a wonderful way of hosting get2gethers
These wooden rafters sell for a whopping premium since they are made of Burma Teak wood.
The main hall of the Athangudi Palace, Chettinad. The enterprising Nattukottai Chettiars or Nagarathars travelled wide over the British Empire, towards the end of the 19th and early 20th Century. Chettiars were traders and bankers par excellence. It is believed that the system of double entry accounting, now practiced the world over was their contribution. Before the Bank of Ceylon was established the entire banking industry in Sri Lanka was managed by them. In a bid to make a strong statement of their social status and financial worth, the Narathars invested their earnings back in Chettinad, often in the form of opulent homes, befitting a Raja, a title which was actually conferred on some of them by the British. Their houses consisted of a series of halls and nalukettu and started with an elevated and covered verandah or thinai where men met visitors and business associates. The ornate door with fine carvings at the end of the thinai led to a huge decorated hall, often with decorated roof two floors high. This was the place where important guests received. A long hall, often running the length of the building was used as banquet halls during family celebrations like marriages. A door in line with the entry opens into a quadrangle, mainly used as the living quarters of the sons and their family. A third door in line with the two leads to a courtyard, which was basically used by the women. Often, a fourth quadrangle, which housed the kitchen, grinding wheel and the rice milling tools (Oral and Ulakkai) was also added just at the end. All doors are precisely lined so that from the main gate one can look straight through the doors into the backyard, which was often more than 200 yards away.
