Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - Feb 09 - Index

going PLACES
Both the Marwari
community in
north India and
the Chettiyar community
in the south have
prospered in commercial
ventures and
both have built huge
ancestral mansions in
their home towns. The grand
mural-decorated havelis of the
Marwaris in Shekhawati are
famous and the vast mansions
built by the Chettiyars in the
Chettinad/Karaikudi district
of Tamil Nadu are becoming
part of the tourist circuit.
The Chettiyar community
was so wealthy in the 19th and
early 20th centuries that their
mansions were often built on
transversal plots that enveloped
two streets with the front
door opening onto one avenue
and the back door into another!
From a publication of Tamil
Nadu Tourism Department:
“First comes an outer thinai – large
raised platforms on either side of the
central corridor – where the host
Chetti opulence
enter tained male guests. The
platforms lead off on one side into
store rooms and granaries and on
the other, into the kanakupillai or
accountant’s room and the men’s well.
The huge front door is made of
elaborately carved teak with an
image of Lakshmi carved over the
head and navaratna or nine precious
gems buried under the vasapadi
(threshold). 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. The second
courtyard has large dining spaces on
either side. The third courtyard was
for the women, while the fourth, or
nalankattai comprised the kitchens,
leading out to the backyard with its
women’s well and grinding stones”.
The aranmanais (Tamil for
palace) were built using Spanish
tiles, Italian marble or locallycrafted
Athangudi tiles and
Burmese teak. Many houses
were mini forts with small
turrets and guard houses.
With the owners away for
long periods on business, many
of these palaces were neglected
to the point of collapse. Others
were dismantled and the contents
sold to antique collectors
until the head of the community,
Raja Muthia Chettiyar,
intervened and asked that the
mansions be preserved.
He renovated and converted
his own ancestral palace in
Kanadukathan for public
viewing. His younger brother
converted the mansion next to
it into a Chettiyar museum with
valuable furniture, household
utensils, Chettiyar textiles, etc.
The Meyyapan group (owners
of the famous AVM film
studios) converted their family
mansion in Karaikudi into an
heritage hotel, the Bangla.
Today, a visit to the Chettinad
mansions is a must on the
itinerary of tourists to Tamil
Nadu. – DHANANJAYA BHAT
Visit India 2009
India’s Ministry of Tourism
has announced the Visit
India 2009 scheme to galvanize
tourism to the country.
Incentives are being offered
to tourists visiting the
country during April- December
2009:
• One complimentary
international air passage for
a travelling companion
• One night complimentary
stay in the hotel booked
by the tourist
• One complimentary
local sightseeing tour
• One complimentary
‘rural eco-holiday’
The scheme works on the
concept of providing one additional
or free service for every
service paid for.
• For info, call India Tourism,
Toronto at 416-962-3787 or
visit www.incredibleindia.org
February 2009 Desi News 25