Chettinad

2021 had put paid to our Golden Wedding Anniversary plans so we were gifted a 2022 holiday in Chettinad. Many must have wondered ‘Why Chettinad?’ I think any place in India deserves a question as its answer ‘Why Not?’

We landed in Madurai and had a 2-hour car drive ahead of us. And would you believe? We were able to get the services of the same driver Karthick who had taken us to the South India temples on our temple tour. He was as voluble as before and as full of spicy stories of politicians and celebrities. We did not have to turn on the car radio at all!

Comprising 75 villages, the largest being Karaikudi, Chettinad had reached a high level of affluence and prosperity because of the Chettiars who were very enterprising merchants, trading with many South East Asian countries, bringing back untold wealth (and material like wood, steel etc.). The money was used in importing exquisite Belgian glass, sturdy Birmingham steel, smooth Italian marble, beautifully designed Japanese tiles, solid Burma teak, all of which were used in the mansions they built and owned.

Patronized by the Cholas and then the Pandyas, the Chettiar merchants would be on seas for lengthy periods during which time their womenfolk and children would take care of the property. They were also very successful money-lenders and bankers.

However, the post-war scenario was not very conducive to their maritime trade. They lost their monopoly in that field, fell on bad days, and could not maintain their lavish lifestyle. They relocated to other cities and abroad (especially Singapore) but would always return to their multi-storied mansions and large families for functions and religious festivals.

Today, in the lanes of the villages, we can still see the earlier elegance and grandeur in the mansions. Granted, many are in dilapidated condition (but still standing), some are in the hands of caretakers, some managed by Chettiar trusts to keep their old charm intact while others have been converted into hotels.

We stayed in one such heritage hotel ‘Visalam’, a mansion bequeathed by its Chettiar owner to his daughter Visalakshi. This is a celebrated residence. Built almost a century ago, it retains the gleaming floors and polished windows and doors. Tiles and fabrics from local small industries and handloom weavers continue to be used here. Like all other mansions, this one too had the traditional ‘old is gold’ touch; the large courtyard (double or triple storeyed) surrounded by pillars on a higher level and with rooms all around; the imposing façade, the high ceilings, the banquet hall, simple and inviting with its floor seating arrangement.

You could sense something warm and calming about the place. Consisting of only 15 rooms (huge and comfortable), there was no fear or risk of people breathing down each others necks. There was a coffee hall with an old radio, pagade, pallanghuzi and other games but we preferred to sip on our morning coffee on the lawns outside. The shady mango tree with small mangoes at an unreachable height was an attention seeker. A family of hens and chicks would follow one another looking for insects in the grass and sometimes just scurrying across it (they must have heard it’s good to walk on grass). A rooster also was part of the animal world but it never seemed to wake up early enough to wake up others. We heard an owl once in the evening, but it must have realized it mistimed its presence and its hooting was not heard again. 

Lovely bougainvillea covered the walls, antique chairs and a cart from the bygone days amused us. A lady would draw beautiful kolam every morning without fail – a tradition dear to us. We enjoyed these simple pleasures in this serene place. Neither flamboyant nor overstated, the heritage house, an enduring and endearing symbol of paternal love, seemed to bask in its own soft radiance.

A short walk outside our hotel took us to the streets / lanes that were witnesses to the lavish lives of the Chettiars. The mansions were awesome, standing cheek by jowl, most of them extending from one end of the street to the other with boxed windows and balconies jutting out onto the street. We counted 50 windows on one side of one mansion. Almost all the mansions had bright, colourful facades with Goddess Laxmi seated above the entrance arch. The colours of the sculptures of the Goddess and other Gods were fascinating. Ganesha, Rama, Seetha, Laxmana, Hanuman also found pride of place at the entrance arch.

As we walked on, at sunset time at one spot we saw a multitude of birds – parrots, bulbuls, crows, screeching, desperately flying from one tree to another, creating an unearthly cacophony. Looking for a resting place for the night or just enjoying the clamour, we didn’t know, but it was nature at its noisiest.

We saw the mansion where the movie “Kandukondain Kandukondain” was shot. An awesome construction, we could only see it from the outside as it is closed to the public. The ornate balconies, the polished pillars, the stained-glass windows, everything was an absolute spectacle. 

We also entered a mansion whose old lady caretaker was happy to have someone to talk to because we could see her husband lolling on his easy chair. More importantly, we think she wanted to proudly show off the palatial house she was lovingly tending. The old style kitchen with a row of “chulhas”, and doorways made of teak wood with intricate designs left us gasping. She showed one particular pattern on the door which she claimed would be found in no other mansion. That is why, though she made us pose in front of the door for a photo, she moved us this way and that and made sure we did not block the exquisite work on wood.

In all these places, the resplendent, imposing facades, the tall, polished, beautifully carved columns, the courtyard with provision for rainwater to flow out, the huge kitchens, banquet halls and wedding halls, the work on wood and granite were marvellous – it was impossible to even imagine how skilful, patient and creative the craftsmen of yore must have been.

We had 2 other options with regard to our stay – a luxurious mansion turned hotel “Chidambara Vilas” and a more modern “Bangala”. But we decided on the CGH Earth Visalam because we had experienced the warmth and cosiness of CGH Earth before in Kerala and Tamil Nadu (there is still loyalty left in the world). So that we were not entirely deprived of the options not taken, we went there for lunch on two different days.

Chidambara Vilas is a magnificent mansion with its luxurious interiors. What we saw left us spellbound. The lunch was served on traditional banana leaves in their dining room. While Visalam is in the middle of the village Kanadukathan, Chidambara Vilas was on the “outskirts”.

Bangala had its mansion façade but was a sprawling green place inside, more like a colonial club. The food here is to “live for”. The taste of the made-in-the-hotel ice cream (mango and vanilla) still lingers. Bangala has won many awards for its culinary creations. The lip-smacking recipes have been passed down from one generation to another in this family run hotel.

We visited the Athangudi palace (one open to the public at a price) located in the village by that name. The entrance itself mesmerised us with its variety of tiles on floor, walls, and ceiling, bright arches, doors made of Burma teak wood, floors of Italian marble, single stone granite pillars, inner ceilings made of teak wood, beautiful sculptures, the hall with an awesome ceiling with a central design in gold of Meenakshi’s kalyanam.

People called it the “imported house” because of the imported fixtures and interiors. Lord Krishna’s story is painted on all the arches of windows. The Belgian mirrors were covered, perhaps to protect it from the continuous footfall. The delicate lattice work on the edges of the wooden arches covering must be seen to be believed. A special mixture of limestone used on the walls gives it a soft appearance and keeps the place cool. The old style furniture, stained glass panes on ventilators, extensive verandas give the place a quaint, exotic look. 

We also visited one of the many small scale Athangudi tile making factories. The beautifully patterned tiles made with local cement and colour powders are soaked in water for 3 days and then sundried for many days. The beautiful patterns help in making the magnificent villas look even more splendid. These tiles have made a name for themselves in the international market also.

Who can think of leaving a South Indian city without seeing its temples? Especially if they are ancient temples with an aura of their own.

On our wedding anniversary, we first went to a very well-known Thirumayam Vishnu temple. Unfortunately that day there was a death in the fort behind the temple hence it was closed. We decided we’d go again in the evening. And Lo and Behold it was open then.

This ancient 9^th century cave temple (one of the 108 divya desams) has two famous rock cut shrines. One of the presiding deities, Sathyamurthy, is a 7 foot idol, standing tall and divine along with His consorts. In the adjoining sanctum, the sculpture of Vishnu is in a sleeping position, reclining on the Seshanaga who is believed to be a protective force and who burns the asuras who planned to kidnap Bhoodevi and Sreedevi. Their sculptures are on the chest and near the feet of the Lord, which is where they are supposed to have hidden themselves. Following this legend, the sculpted Adisesha is shown with flames emanating from it – one hand of Lord Vishnu seems to be resting on Adisesha, calming it.

The anantasayi Vishnu of this temple is supposed to be only second in importance to the one in Srirangam. The idol occupies the entire rear wall in the garbha gudi and is surrounded by various other celestial figures. There are also individual sannadhis for Lord Narsimha, Andal Devi, Garuda. The stone carved sculptures are breath taking. An octagonal tank with 108 steps distributed over the 8 sides is part of the temple precincts.

A Shiva temple is located in the same complex, a few meters away. The sanctum sanctorum has a Shiva Lingam sculpted from the rock of the cave itself. Inside, it was profusely hot and humid and all of us were almost drenched in sweat. But the young priest performed the puja with such sincerity and faith that we really felt blessed.

Hewn from the same rock, the Shiva and Vishnu temples are said to be dedicated to the unity of Vaishnavism and Shaivism especially at the time when each was vying for supremacy. A granite wall surrounds the temple enclosing all its shrines as if reiterating the oneness of the Gods.

The rock-cut Vinayaka temple we visited was teeming with humanity because of the kumbhabhishekam that was being performed. People were standing in quite a disciplined manner to see the deity. We only had a long-distance view and were planning an exit when a gentleman showed us another way to reach the diety. A Chettiar had come for darshan so there was a bit of delay. What impressed us was that everyone in all the queues was given a chance to see the deity (covered in gold) from close quarters and take aarathi.

The Shiva temple close by was serene and quiet. The paintings on the ceilings had an interesting feature – there were angels with tilaks and also British soldiers. The sculptures of the 63 nayanmars, side by side, in a long line was another majestic sight.

We had heard of one particular temple with terracotta horses and set out to visit it. We initially went to a temple with awe inspiring huge terracotta horses. An NRI family, whose kula devata was the deity there was waiting for the priest and we realized that we were not at the temple we were looking for. Nevertheless we went looking around. Ashta Lakshmi sculptures adorned the inner walls and we came to a small area where we saw different lengths of sacrificial chopping swords ensconced in their niches. The local Gods are apparently appeased and honoured with the sacrifice of roosters and goats.

We got to the temple we were looking for – a beautiful village shrine dedicated to Ayyanar. The sculpted guardians of the village stand tall and fierce in front of the temple. It is a very open, clean and airy temple. It is very unique in that there is a vibrant array of terracotta horses, old and new, along the outer wall of the temple. It is believed that the village deity (the grama devatha) protects his village(s) by riding around them on a white horse. Every year, on a particular festival day in March, devotees offer pretty clay horses to their lord as a gesture of gratitude. Stunning ceilings seem to be a hallmark of temples here. The colourful façade enhances the radiance of the temple.

There is a hitherto unseen coloured sculpture on the entrance wall called Adhyanath Prabhu. It is half Ganesha and half Hanuman. The concept is itself so different. The villagers say that the Ayyappa temple has evolved from the Ayyannar temple. They have the same set of observances too. While Ashwin and Kuppu went in, we were planning to follow them. As we moved, there was a loud “NO” from an eagle eyed old lady, “You can’t go there”. So we drew back. An elderly couple saw us looking helpless and decided to help us by drawing a Laxman Rekha for Aruna. The gentleman then turned to me and asked “Are you over 60? Then you can go in”. I felt elated about the compliment – I didn’t look 60+. Wow!

As we continued to stand there, my entire face suffused in pride, another couple came, the gentleman redrew the line of control for Aruna but said, pointing to me, “Paati can go in”. That elation was short-lived and balloon like, deflated so soon! That Wow soon turned to Ouch!

The antique market is a couple of lanes with shops on either side. One shop exclusively had bronze and brass idols of all Gods, another had the pillars that would be found in wealthy homes. Copper and bronze cookware shone from some stores and ceramic objects were displayed proudly in some. These must have been sold off by the owners when they could no longer afford to retain them. They were priceless memorabilia. Some streets also have doors and other furniture on the pavement, which have perhaps outlived their use and will be revamped and sold. It is painful to see the fall of some of the hitherto prosperous families.

We felt a bit saddened at the thought of leaving our hotel and Chettinad after the brief but unforgettable holiday. But then, Goodbyes are always laced with sadness. It was the same with us. Perhaps we were a bit relieved to be leaving the hot, humid conditions behind us but we were carrying a lot of memories of centuries gone by. Karaikudi and Athangudi will be part of our wonderful Chettinad experience.