THE TYPE OF COLOURFUL HOUSES BUILT BY THE CHETTIAR COMMUNITY OF CHETTINAD, ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY OF MADURAI, IN THE SOUTHERN STATE OF TAMILNADU.THESE TYPE OF HOUSES ARE PECULIAR TO THIS REGION ONLY.

1. Chettinad is a region of the Sivaganga district of southern Tamil Nadu state, India. Karaikudi is known as the capital of Chettinad,which includes Karaikudi and 74 other villages. Chettinad is the homeland of the NattukottaiChettiars (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. Today there is a Diaspora of Chettinad people, who live in the USA, Singapore, Malaysia, among other places. Chettinad is well known for itsChettinadcuisine, Mansions, and Temples. 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 known for its Culinary delicacies. Chettinadfood now, is one of the many reasons why people get to know Chettinad. Chettinad food is essentially spicy, with a standard full meal consisting of cooked dhal, eggplant (brinjal) curry, drumstick sambar, ghee for flavouring rice, and sweet meats like payasam and paalpaniyaram. "Kara kolambu" is a highly regarded south Indian sambar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chettinad

2. A palatial house of Chettinad

3. A Chettinad house courtyard

4. Chettinad cuisine, usually eaten on a banana leaf.

5. Origins of the Chettiars Chettiars are basically members of Hindu religion belonging to Southern Districts of Indian Sub-Continent. They originated from a place called Naganadubut later on moved to a place known as KaveriPoompattinam situated on the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu which was then ruled by the Cholas. Chettiars are also known as the Nagarathars which means " People living in Towns." Chettiars are considered as the Pioneers of Modern Banking. They introduced a new concept of " Double Entry Bookkeeping " commonly termed as " PattruVaravu " in Tamil, known to all of us as Debit & Credit respectively in English. During the Chola reign Chettiars were asked to carry on the Ceremony of Coronation of the Chola Kings. They were given lot of respect and privileges in the kingdom. But this did not last longer as the Chettiars decided to leave this land and move on further south to PandiaKingdom. This was because one of the Chola Kings fell in love with one of the Chettiar girl. But refused to marry her. Thus the Chettiar Ladies in the region, to protest this, burned themselves alive. This got the Chettiars to move out of this Kingdom. The Pandia Kings invited the Nagarathar Community to their Kingdom with honor and respect. The Nagarathar Community accepted the invitation and settled in the Pandia Kingdom. But as there existed no woman now in their community they decided to marry a SaivaPillaiwoman from Tirunelveli district for further growth of the community. But they put up a condition that they will not have any alliance with the SaivaPillaicommunity in future. They selected the place in the South-Eastern districts of this kingdom, presently in " Sivagangai District " of TamilNadu and settled there, which later went on to be known as " Chettinad. "

6. Want to learn more about Chettinad houses and temples… ah... These houses are a real piece of Workmanship and a feast to one’s eyes. Massive structures to visit that cover an approximate.. land area of about 25,000 sq. feet. Amazing to hear that, right ! These houses in Chettinad happened to be built say about 100yrs back and still many stand erect. Isn't that a astonishing fact? In those days, you won't believe, the houses were made of Lime, Sand and Egg Yoke. Now the most interesting fact is that, to build these houses, the eggs were imported from Rangoon (Burma). Doesn't that sound interesting to hear ? Also the wood used for construction i.e. Teak was also all imported from Burma. Now coming to the import of these Teak wood, there is a fascinating story of how they were imported from there. In those days the Roadway was not so developed and from Burma to Chettinad is quite a long distance to travel. So these wood logs were tied !!! on to the Merchant Ships coming to India and made to float to their destination. On reaching the shore, Chettinad being not far from the seashore, it was easy for them to transport these lumbers to the respective villages.

7. Chettinad houses are signs of successful joint families that existed in olden days. Each house in Chettinad is made of Mugappu, Valavu, Irandankatu, Moonakatu & Thotham. Now as you walk through a ChettinadVidu you will first find Mugappu, the entrance to the house, I think we could call it the Reception. Then comes the Valavu, the living area of the house. In the Valavu generally there are four Platforms that are called as Pattalai, each at four corners of the Valavu.These Pattalaiact as the living halls of each family. Along with the Pattallai, Valavuis made up of numerous IrattaiVidu. These IrattaiViduare rooms used by each family to keep their belongings and etc. Irattaividugot its name so because Irattaiin Tamil means Two and Vidu means House and as its name suggests, it is made of two rooms connected by a single door. Then as you walk through the Valavu using the Nadai (Corridor) you will reach Irandankatu. Irandankatuis used for dining purpose and have store rooms in them for storing all kitchenware. Further down if you walk you will find yourself in a typical Chettinad kitchen. This region of the house is called asMoonakatu. All the cooking in the house is done here. And walking a little more will lead you to the Garden known as Thotham in Tamil. Thotham is essentially used for little bit of gardening, stabling the cow up and then for bathing. Now i forgot to tell you earlier that each house in Chettinad in the olden days had enough cows to supply milk for all their needs. And yes each house in Chettinad also had, provision for parking their vehicles i.e. it could be a car, or a horse chariot, etc. depending upon the status of the family.

8. Now defining the Chettinad House sounds real easy but it is not so when you happen to visit it. Have you ever thought of counting the number of rooms in a house in Chettinad, or have you visited every part of ahouse in Chettinad? Apart from the ground floor the Chettinad houses also have a first floor to add to its massive construction. These first floors are also made of rooms meant for Storage of things, so from this you could imagine how much would have our ancestors had to store. A big Chettinad house consist of atleast 60 to 70 rooms. Isn't that an interesting fact to look at ? Now I think that's a lot on Chettinad houses. But what’s being done to conserve these houses, safe guard them? These houses now a days are slowly vanishing due to lack of maintenance and something should be done to preserve ancestral properties like these in existence for posterity. Or we will have to consider ourselves lucky to have at least seen such massive houses because soon,theremay be none to show our kids anything apart from a few CDs which may contain a glimpse of what our houses looked like…. http://chettinad.itgo.com/ht.htm

9. The Chettinad houses are built on a rectangular, traversal plot that stretches across two streets,with the front door opening into the first street and the back into the second.

10. A fine carving in one of these buildings. A century ago artisans, craftsmen, sculptors and wood-carvers brought their creative skills to bear on these buildings.

11. Looking in from the main threshold, your eye travels in a straight line across a series of inner courtyards, each a diminishing rectangle of light, leading out to the back door.

12. Most of the Chettiyar’s house in Chettinad consists of thousands of windows, hundreds of wooden pillars.

13. These pillars are coated with egg white stand tall in marvelously big dinner hall called KalyanaKottahai. These houses may also contain raised platform known as ‘Thinnai’ used to protect from sun and rain.

15. First comes an outer thinai – Large raised platforms on either side of the central corridor, where the host would entertain male guests. The platforms lead off on one side into store rooms and massive granaries and on the other, into the ( Kanakupillai ) or Accountant’s room. This area also usually leads off to the men’s well.

16. From here, the huge elaborately carved teak front door, with image of Lakshmi carved over the head and navaratna or nine precious gems buried under the ( Vasapadi) threshold.

17. The door leads into the first open air courtyard, with pillared corridors running on each side that lead into individual rooms, each meant for a married son, each with a triangular slot cut into the wall for the evening lamp. Then comes the second counrtyard with large dining spaces on either side. The third courtyard was for the women folk to rest and gossip, while the fourth, or nalankattai comprised the kitchens, leading out to the backyard with its women’s well and grinding stones. The wealthier the merchants the larger the house, often spreading out to a second floor.

18. Chettinad Palace in Kanadukathan The 110-year-old Chettinad Palace in Kanadikathan village is the oldest surviving building of this style, built by Dr AnnamaliChettiyar, founder of the Indian Bank and the Annamalai University in Chidambaram.

19. Entrance of the Palace The basic style of architecture is that of traditional Chettinad, while the construction material, decor items and furnishings were mostly imported, from east Asian countries where the Raja had spread his sprawling business and also from Europe.

20. Dining hall Dining hall where at least 250 people can dine in the traditional style, that is, by squatting on the floor. Two massive mirrors fitted to the walls are meant to help those who are serving to find out who needs more helpings, without actually walking up the length of the hall to the guest. Marble from Italy, wall-to-wall mirrors from Belgium, crystals from Europe ...... The woodwork and stone work were inspired by what Dr Chettiyar had seen in France and other European destinations.

21. Entrance The hall leads to the central courtyard used for weddings and religious ceremonies. This is what a new married couple see when they leave the palace after they got married

22. Third courtyard The third courtyard has numerous small rooms surrounding it, meant to store crockery, food and other kitchen items, and there are also two kitchens here. The servants' quarters are situated at the far end which is a suitable distance from the residential area of the family and yet close to the kitchen where the ladies of the house would need their services.

28. door frames with Goddess Gajalakshmiwho symbolizes wealth and a Kumbam(brass pot) with sprouting leaves engraved on them to symbolize wealth.

29. ………other examples of Chettinadhouses…most could do with some fresh coats of paint & better maintenance!!!

38. Images from the net & Flickr… Trinity October 2009