First
it was their cuisine, then it was Chettinad saris, the richly coloured
textiles in cotton and silk, that hinted at a distinctive community. Close
on the heels was the art and craft of Chettinad that began to flood the
antique shop. There were beautifully proportioned pillars in rare tropical
woods, ornately craved doorways and doors, narrow panels of wood that came
from the lintels and coffered ceiling of former homes, the four branched
capitals carved in wood, taken from pillars, that were upturned and used as
the base for glass-topped tables, hanging glass chandeliers, glazed tiles
pressed tiles, marble-topped tables decorated with tiles along their edges
and heavy Victorian and Edwardian style wooden furniture. This does not even
begin to mention the fabulous amounts of Burmese lacquerware, the original
Swedish enamelware, the Belgian glass, English crockery and cutlery, or the
containers made locally of brass, bamboo, stone and wood. The antique shops
of some of the better-known tourist destinations of the south were crammed
with the loot from the homes of the Chettiars, long before it became
fashionable to talk of the "Chettinad Style".
Back to the Past
At some distant epoch of their history, the Nattukotai Chettiars were
forced to flee from the area around Nagapattinam that was under a Chola king
and seek the protection of the neighbouring Pandyan kingdom. They are seen
as town folk "Nattukkotai" ( those who live in country forts), the
term that distinguished them from other Chettiars. The community organised
itself in small clusters. The Nattukkotai Chettiars were forced to leave the
bleak countryside around Karaikudi and settle down as money lenders in
distant places of the south. During these long periods of absence, it was
the women who conducted the affairs of the family, living together under one
roof, and yet managing their family units separately. It was probably their
ability to travel that led the Chettiars to make the best use of the
territories that opened up to them in the 19th century, as the British
consolidated their grip in Southeast Asia. The Chettiars spread out in
countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Malaya, Cambodia and Vietnam and even
went west, towards some of the French colonies.
The social pattern is also reflected in the architecture of their mansions.
Small strong rooms, with massive wooden doors are given to the different
family members. Some of these rooms are extensively decorated with small
glass baubles, like those used for Christmas trees, and with rows and rows
of porcelain figurines. Indeed the Chettiar ladies were probably collectors
before their time. They seem to have had an innate faculty for arranging all
their belonging whether in their puja rooms or in their storerooms,
according to size and shape, and in descending order and importance, as if
for display in a museum.
Country Forts
These loom upon the landscape of the former Ramnad district, to the south
west of Tanjore, like something out of a fairy tale. They are massive high
walled structures, often built in compact clusters, back to back, one house
stretching all the way along the length of a street. One can stand at the
front entrance of one of these mansions and look straight down the main
axis, all the way to the back door that leads from the kitchen to the next
street. It's only after reaching one of the terraces that one can see the
neat progression of court-yards surrounded by covered verandas, cashed with
their tiled and sloping roofs, intersected by the long communal halls that
unfold ceremoniously, all the way. The doorways, or entrances to each of
these areas are an important part of the Chettiar style. The front ones are
the most imposing. The finest Burma teak, the richest satinwoods from Sri
Lanka, black marble, and ebony have been used.
Inside a Chettiyar Home
As the Chettiars grew in wealth and stature, these areas, the front
entrance and the formal public area, grew in size and opulence. English
style furniture was introduced in the formal public area. When this was
expanded into a main hall the ornamentation exceeded all imagination. these
halls would have elaborately carved and painted ceilings, with an opulent
chandelier hanging from the centre, the lower walls would be tiled with
Japanese ceramics, and the upper edges decorated with a frieze of paintings
that reflected images of the Sahibs and Ladies hunting, or of the newly
introduced motor car and train, or voluptuous damsels lolling around on
bolsters, in imitation of the sirens on cinema that was also to have a deep
impact on the visual language of the time.
