Chettinad is well known for its houses, embellished with marble and Burma teak, wide courtyards, spacious rooms, and for its 18th century mansions. If visiting Chettinad and experiencing the region’s rich culture, delicious cuisine and exceptional architecture has been on your to-do list for too long, then the upcoming Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival is a good place to start.
Curated by renowned Bharatanatyam artist Leela Samson, the four-day festival to be held next month will bring forth literary talks, dance and musical performances. “The main idea is to draw attention to the heritage properties of Chettinad and our cultural moorings which are well maintained in districts like Chettinad and surrounding areas like Pudukkottai,” says Leela of the event to be held in Leela. The architecturally stunning Chettiar Haveli and spacious courtyard, as well as in the open air.
The region of Chettinad is located in the southern part of the State of Tamil Nadu (South India), with Chennai (Madras) as its capital. The main town of the region is Karaikkudi, which is 400 km south from Chennai and 90 km from the major sites of the state, such as Thanjavur (WHS UNESCO), Tiruchirapalli and Madurai.
It is inhabited, among other local communities, by some 110,000 Chettiars (a community of Tamil merchants) who are spread over two cities and 73 villages. Beyond the iconic Rajah’s Palace, what makes the charm of the towns and villages of Chettinad is perhaps the beauty of an overall village landscape created by the harmony of architectural elements and urban planning. Streets in grid Pattern, the perfect alignment of houses against street axis, slope of tiled roof and height of the buildings…. Even if the façades of the mansions bear witness of personal extravaganza of rich Chettiars families, the Chettinad villages stand out with their remarkable unity in architectural style that gives unique cultural heritage identity to the Region.
