Mansions of Chettinad

Explore the astonishing architecture of Chettinad, through the lens of ace photographer Bharath Ramamrutham, as his pictures reveal the delightful details and intricate craftsmanship ofa bygone era

- DR. GEORGE MICHELL

An amazing transformation characterises the domestic architecture of Apartir du milieu du XIXe siècle, l’architecture domestique du Chettinad

Chettinad. From the middle of the 19th century onwards, the towns and villages in this somewhat out of the way part of south-eastern Tamil Nadu witnessed a dramatic acceleration in building construction. Nowhere is this more evident than in the profusion of huge, grandly planned dwellings that may justly be described as mansions.

These veritable palaces proclaimed the prosperity and ambition of the Nattukottai Chettiars, a mercantile community that, according to local legend, had migrated to this part of Tamil Nadu from the nearby coastal zone many hundreds of years before. But the Nattukottai Chettiars were never able to benefit from their new homeland, which was thorny and parched, and mostly unsuitable for cultivation. 

The unrelenting poverty of this arid environment compelled these commercially inclined, resourceful people to seek their fortunes outside Chettinad, and in time even beyond India itself. And it is the astounding wealth that the Chettiars acquired as expatriate money lenders, traders and land owners which financed the magnificent mansions of Chettinad that form the subject of this volume.