Chronicles of Karaikudi
I had never visited Karaikudi, ever before, though I have heard of the place. As I gather, Karaikudi is one among a cluster of places collectively known as Chettinad and happens to be the largest city in Sivaganga District. The people are predominantly Chettiars (a community of businessmen) and the city is known for palatial mansions known as ‘Kaarai Veedu’.
It had been quite some time since we had a vacation and as providence would have it, an opportunity presented itself this year. We decided to attend the wedding of our daughter’s close friend there during November 2024 and also have a glimpse of the places in and around Chettinad.
How deeply the Chettiars cherish and value their tradition was evident even before we started planning our journey. My daughter excitedly told me that her friend had sent money for purchase of a dress especially for the ensuing wedding and it transpires that that is the tradition they follow. What a noble gesture! Though they had offered to arrange for our stay as well, we decided to stay on our own.
After almost a 7-hour journey from Chennai Egmore, we landed at around 10.30 pm at Karaikudi Railway station and within a drive of around 10 minutes we were at our place of stay, a business class hotel on Trichy Main Road in Karaikudi. The room allotted was modest, hot water was available 24 hours, we needed no air-conditioner as the weather was chilly, and it was located one of the main roads. Thought that was the best we could get and after discussing the plan for the next day, we dozed off.
One of the reasons I like travel is, meeting and interacting with interesting people. We had occasion to meet one such person at Karaikudi. He acted as our tour guide taking us to different places, to famous restaurants and showing us places of interest, patiently. The gentleman was Mr. Mani( aka Arulmani) , a local popular figure as we could gather from his conversations. He is the local Santaclaus and also does gigs on TV and as the time for Christmas was fast approaching he had a lot of commitments, he said.
Our first stop the next day was of course, the marriage venue, Jeyemkondar Mahal, a 10-minute drive from the place we stayed. As we passed through the streets we could see many houses which looked identical and were in typical Chettinad style. The area was in the interiors and a residential area and we could find no sign of a cab or an auto anywhere nearby, for our return journey.
The marriage hall was full; the marriage ceremony was simple and was over by 10.30 am. The breakfast was sumptuous with a variety of delicacies (especially Vellai paniyaram with kaara kulambu) apart from the regular fare. As there were a lot of ceremonies following the marriage, we met the couple, wished them and were about to leave. Chettinad hospitality showed up again - they arranged for a vehicle to drop us back at our place.
After lunch, we planned to visit the famous Athangudi Palace and we were eagerly searching for some mode of transport to reach the Palace and that’s when we bumped into Mr.Mani.
After we agreed to the terms, off we were, on our journey.
Athangudi is another of the cluster of places making up the Chettinad. It was a half-an-hour drive from Karaikudi. Enroute, we had a stop-over at the ‘1000 Jannal Veedu’( Jannal- windows, Veedu-House) a popular venue . The house apparently was constructed in the year 1941 as the blackstone plaque above the entrance mentions and the mansion is named ‘ Narayana Vilas’. No doubt, it is a massive structure but whether the house actually has 1000 windows is hard to fathom, for no visitors are at present, being allowed inside. So we had to contend with a look of the house from the exterior. So were the school children who had come on an excursion at the same time.
When we expressed our desire to see a weaver in action, Mr. Mani took us to a Saree shop, where we could actually see a weaver in action on the framing loom, with fly-shuttle, bobbins etc.
When we reached the Athangudi Palace, it was around 3.30 pm. The Athangudi Palace was an imposing structure with a decorative entrance, massive marble stone pillars and colourful Italian tiles. The entrance bears the name N AR Nachiappa Chettiar, A Muthupatnam.
We completed the tour of the Place in less than an hour. Here are some snapshots.
One of the pillar heads at the Palace:
Beautiful tiles at the threshold:
The arches above the windows are adorned with paintings depicting the life of Ramadas, a famous composer who lived in the 17th Century and was a devotee of Lord Rama.
The beautiful artwork on the roof, surrounded by tiles.
Here are some of the artifacts we saw at the Palace:
During our return journey, we wanted to visit a tile making concern, since Athangudi tiles are famous and I learnt that you can actually see the tile-making process. However, it was late and the workers were starting to go home. Luckily, one concern was kind enough to permit and invited us in. They showed us how a hand-made tile is made. We spent some time there as they explained the tile making process in detail.
It was an unforgettable experience. As we were returning Mr. Mani mentioned that there was one more place in Karaikudi which is worth visiting and said he will take us there the next day.
The next day, we planned to do some shopping and Mr. Mani was there at our door exactly at 9.30 am with his autorickshaw. I enquired about the ‘Vintage Museum’ he was referring to the previous day and he promptly took us there. It was located in a remote area which appeared to be an area which was slowly being developed, as the houses lay scattered. The Museum was open but we were told that renovation work was going on and hence the exhibits are yet to be arranged for proper display. When we told them that we are from Chennai and it doesn’t matter, they let us in to have a look, ‘as is where is’ condition. We spent more than an hour at the Museum. What a fantastic collection it was! Thanks to the painstaking efforts of a single man – Mr. Mahadevan.
Museums are repository of history. They tell us about the kingdoms and the people of the days long gone by --how they lived, about their culture, tradition, art, warfare, food habits etc. In that sense, sense they are more academic in nature. However, ‘Vintage Museum’, is different.
It contains artefacts with which you will be able to relate. The items on display there would remind you of some sort of connect with your life and is sure to trigger that wonderful feeling of nostalgia. Maybe, it could be the familiar box of cigarettes, your Dad’s favourite, or the Amulspray tin which your mother used to purchase at the local grocery shop. There are coins, tin toys, tools, vintage cars, posters, newspapers, cigarette cases, cigarette lighters, calenders, movie posters, assortment of cutlery, talcum powder boxes, postal letters, stamps... the list goes on. We were lucky enough to have a brief chat with the brainchild of this museum -Mr. Mahadevan, an amiable gentleman. He told us how he started collecting tin toys and how it has grown over the years. He clarified that he is a collector and not a seller. It makes a difference. He also was candid enough to admit that many a time, people just give away their prized possessions to him because of the respect he commands as a collector. We could imagine the trouble he would have taken to keep them safe and ensuring that there is no damage. He also says that an artefact need not cost a fortune. If you happen to visit Karaikudi, make it a point not to miss this wonderful vintage museum. By the way, there is a similar museum of Mr. Mahadevan at Kodaikanal. Here’s the gentleman himself:
Here’s a glimpse of some of the interesting exhibits on display there:
After that we visited the market place at Kallukatti South, had tea at the local tea shop with Mr. Mani and made some purchases. We found that an entire street here has antique shops. And here are some vignettes in and around the marketplace in Karaikudi:
Another Chettinad style mansion:
As the time available was short, we could not visit the Thirumayam Fort. For the religiously inclined there are quite a few temples in and around Karaikudi. For instance, Kunrakudi Murugan Temple which forms the backdrop of some hilarious scenes in the Tamil movie ‘Emdan Magan’ starring Nasser, Sharanya, Vadivelu and Bharath, is 11 kms from Karaikudi. The Pilliarpatti Vinayagar Temple is 12 kms from Karaikudi. Maybe, you have the luxury of time allowing you to visit these places also on your trip to Karaikudi.
This write-up would not be complete without a word on Karaikudi cuisine. We had lunch and dinner at some hotels and had a taste of Karaikudi cuisine, which was basically very spicy. The food is served on banana leaves and the leaf plates are to be cleared by customers, after eating.
To sum up, though it a small place, Karaikudi’s hospitality, its spicy cuisine and the Vintage Museum will stay etched in our memories for a long time to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment