“A house with 600 ornate windows and 64 grand rooms!! With tiles imported from Italy, coloured glasses brought all the way from Belgium, intricately carved massive wooden doors and jharokhas! Massive Varandas covered in Chettinad Tiles. And beautifully coloured artwork all across.”
Sounds a little grander than grand, doesn’t it? Welcome to Athangudi Palace of Karaikudi in Chettinad! After hopping through the mansions of Chettinad on my road trip from Bangalore to Madurai, Rameshwaram, Chettinad and Thanjavur, I was craving to sneak peak inside one of these grand mansions and have a look at the details. While the day we reached Karaikudi from Rameshwaram, we explored around the town itself, the next day morning, we headed to Athangudi from Karaikudi.
A quick recap of Karaikudi and Chettinad Region
The Chettinad region in Tamil Nadu is actually a cluster of some 80 villages . These lie in the Pudukottai and Shivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. And Karaikudi is one of the main towns of this area. Kanadikathan and Athangudi are other nearby villages. Both of these lie some 14km from Karaikudi in different directions. The Chettinad area gets it’s name from it’s original inhabitants, the Chettiars (“Nattukottai Chettiars”). Years back, the Nattukottai Chettiars were a rich merchant community. These merchants migrated to the Chettinad region after a tsunami destroyed their original homes near the coast. And then they went on to create tremendous wealth, part of which they generously poured in their massive mansions. Find the complete details on the interesting story of the Chettiars, and our guide to explore this region here.
The Village of Athangudi near Karaikudi in Chettinad
Athangudi village is located at a mere distance of 14km from Karaikudi town. On our trip to Karaikudi, we started for Athangudi the day after our arrival in the region. Post breakfast, we checked out from our hotel. And proceeded to Thanjavur from Karaikudi. But decided to take a detour. And first visit Athangudi. The road from Karaikudi to Athangudi is excellent. And it rewarded me with glimpses of some more beautiful Chettinad houses. Particularly in one lane, where I couldn’t help stop. Like a kid, I jumped out of the car with my camera. And clicked several snaps. Of colorful doors, beautiful pictures of deity adorning the front entrance, some beautifully maintained and some abandoned houses that lined the area.
After this little endeavour, we continued on our way to Athangudi. And in no time we were in front of the Athangudi Palace.
Athangudi Palace of Chettinad
The Athangudi Palace of Karaikudi is one amongst the many Chettinad Heritage Palaces and houses that are still maintained well. Although the owner of the Athangudi Palace, Sri MAM Ramaswamy left the palace long back. But it is still used by his extended family. When they visit here on occassions. In fact many of the original Chettiars – the owners of these mansions of Chettinad – like to gather in Karaikudi and other nearby villages during the festival of Diwali. And celebrate together with their huge extended families for almost a week. When they are not using the house, it is open to the public with an entry fee of INR 50 per head.
To be honest, when we first arrived at the Athangudi Palace, I was not sure if this was the right place. For, from outside, the palace looks a little worn by time. And the doors were closed. Since we arrived a little before the opening time. However, a few people were sitting at the tea shop just around the corner, enjoying their morning cup of tea. Although they didn’t understand English that well. But, they were able to inform us that the palace opens after half an hour, at 10:30. To our delight, a lady came and opened the doors of the palace dot at 10:30am. And as we zoomed inside the Athangudi palace of Karaikudi behind her, the scene changed completely.
A Virtual Walk through the Athangudi Palace near Karaikudi
As you enter inside the Athangudi Palace, the grandeur of the palace is evident right from the front porch. Which is decorated intricately with beautiful floor tiles, ornate pillars with wooden carvings, heavy doors, colourful glass windows and even a roof that is so intricately done. The varandah or front porch has bamboo curtains, apt to give the much needed protection during the summer months.
Inside the Athangudi Palace
As you step inside the heavy main door, you reach another varandah, the second porch which is a characteristic of most Chettinad homes. But what gets you fixated is the even more details that have gone in the decoration of this luxurious verandah. With stone and glass work on the walls as well as in the roof, it is one of the most intricately done rooms that I have seen after the Sheesh Mahal at Amer Fort that I visited on my 3 days trip to Jaipur.
The material to build this palace was sourced from different regions of the world. The colorful glasses for the windows were bought from Belgium. The marble tiles in the floor were sourced from Italy. And the teak wood is from Burma (current Myanmar). While the ceilings are ornate with Athangudi Tile. All over the palace, you will see a lot of touches of Indo European Architecture. And the spalsh of colours often reminded me of fontainhas in Goa.
On one end of this huge Varandah lies the way to the stairs that lead to the quarters upstairs. And on the other end lies the entrance to the kitchen. Simple, yet huge!
The main courtyard of Athangudi Palace
After admiring the Varandah, we entered inside the second main door. To arrive at the central courtyard of the house. Tall & heavy symmetrical pillars all around the square courtyard give it a very grand look. The windows and doors of several rooms open into this Varandah. Although much to my dismay, most of them are closed. Through the glass windows, I saw that there is lots of stuff packed inside these rooms. These include wooden furniture, antique items collected by the Chettiar family through years of trade, and many other daily use household items.
Above the courtyard, I could see the second floor rooms of the Athangudi Palace. But again, they remain closed for visitors. However, the areas that I got to visit were enough to give an idea of what a grand palace the Athangudi Palace is. And I couldn’t help imagine how all the more beautiful it must be when it was all inhabited in it’s prime years. Being 100 years old, this house still stands strong.
A detour to Athangudi Tile Factory
After visiting the Athangudi Palace, one can take a detour to the Athangudi Tile Factory, another major place worth visiting when in Karaikudi and visiting Athangudi. The tiles of Chettinad region are world famous. Given they are all handmade in a very eco friendly way. However, the way the process of moulding, drying and then painting, all by hand, producing the Chettinad tiles is a slower process when compared to the process of bulk manufacturing of the tiles in factories. So, the demand is less. However, in recent past, lots of international brands in the manufacturing and construction domain have started taking interest in the Chettinad Tiles because of their eco friendly nature.
You can witness the process of Athangudi Tile manufacturing at the Athangudi Tile Factory. It is at a walkable distance from the Athangudi Palace near Karaikudi.
Tips on exploring the Chettinad Region
- Best time to explore this region are the winter months – November to March. However, there are occasional showers in this region in year end.
- Carry sunscreen, an umbrella and regular cotton cloths
- Most of the important places are on google maps, so, you will not have any problem exploring around.
- You must stay in one of the heritage hotels in the Chettinad Region to get the true essence of Chettinad tourism. Book one here.
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