The Road to Yesterday
On a cold December night we made our way to a sleepy old town called Kanadukathan in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. This town was a part of the Karaikudi Taluk, the home of the Chettiars. It is famous for its huge grand mansions which are an architectural wonder. I was on my way here as part of a case study for my final year thesis.
We reached our destination finally and immediately a feeling of grandeur invaded our senses. Tall, stately bungalows dwarfed us on both sides of the street, their entrances looming large in front of us like something out of a horror film. We turned towards the building that was going to be our accommodation for the next few days. It was a typical Chettinad Bungalow style building, complete with huge arched entrance and the stucco embellishments of Hindu deities on the parapet. It was all too majestic and scary at the same time especially considering it was touching midnight by the time we reached there.
The amount of planning and detailing that went into building a Chettinad Bungalow is imminently evident as soon as one steps inside the building. It is an architectural wonder indeed, one that intrigues and baffles modern architects all over the world who try to capture the essence of these buildings in their design. I had come over to this town to do the exact thing, try and understand the brilliant planning behind these buildings which I could then try and emulate in my thesis design.
My first impression when I entered the bungalow was that it must have been glorious in its heydays. Now, it looked as though it was in desperate need of a few fresh coats of paint to rid it of the dingy atmosphere surrounding it. Then we came across the public reception area or the Mugappu, a very important room Chettinad Bungalows. This particular room was more than 40 meters wide and lead to the main door of the house with two raised platforms or thinnais flanking it on either side. The main door was one of the most interesting features of the house, made of Burmese Teak wood and intricately carved wooden detailings, its beautiful craftsmanship alone makes it worth a fortune. The next part of the house we entered was the first valavu, a built-in courtyard surrounded by pillared corridors that had small rooms on either side.
We entered the inner courtyard on a full moon night and the effect of watching the moon from the inside was a surreal experience to say the least. The walls of the house seemed to be alive with the ghosts of the past; from the portrait of the first patriarch of the family to the metal hook on the rafter beams that young mothers used to tie cradles for their babies using their sarees. The house felt alive and desolate at the same time giving off a hauntingly eery vibe that got me in its grasp. That night I did not go any further into the house and opted to sleep in the thinnai of the first valavu.
The next day dawned bright and gave new life to our surroundings. My morning experience at the Chettinad house was totally different. The early morning view from the inner courtyard gave sight to the first story of the building which was hidden in the darkness of the night. I later learned that the first story was used as the families living quarters. In the morning I could greatly appreciate the symmetry of the plan, a fact that soothed my designer soul. It was time to deeply explore the house in the safety of the sunlight and so we came to the back portion of the house or the second valavu. This room used to be the dining room back during its days of glory, now it was a dismal looking room with faded walls and athangudi tiles that had seen better days. The door next leads to the third valavu that housed the kitchen, service area, and the servants quarters. It is to be noted that all these doors from the main door to the back door are all aligned on a straight axis. One can see the goings-on at the front door from the back entrance, such attention to detail is a common factor in all the Chettinad Bungalows.
Once we had finished the tour of the house we decided it was now time to have a look at the small town. The street outside was lined with large, majestic mansions on both sides. These buildings took up the length of two streets and their widths were usually one-fourth of their length. This was a climate-specific design feature as Chettinad situated in the heart of Southern Tamil Nadu experienced a perpetually hot climate the year-round. Most of these buildings were abandoned and were in various states of ruins. Some buildings were literally falling apart with various parts of them missing as the family members fallen on bad times often sold the architectural elements of their homes in bits and pieces. It is not uncommon to see markets that sold columns, doors, windows of Chettinad buildings in the roads leading to these towns. Seeing the beautiful ruins of these buildings was a heartbreaking experience. I could not keep myself from imagining and re-constructing these buildings in my mind to get a feel of how they used to be in the olden times. I wished for a road to yesterday so that I could experience the golden days of the Chettinad buildings.
It was then time to leave since I had got all the necessary details that I needed for my case study. There was a bittersweet feeling about leaving this place that had given me so much joy and sorrow; joy as I got to see and get a firsthand experience of this one of a kind Architectural masterpiece and sorrow because I did not find this masterpiece in a better state and could not revisit the past to do the same. Nevertheless, this was an experience that will stay with me for a long time one that I will treasure always.
