OWC Chettinad Trip

With Lakhsmi Chockalingam as the superb guide we explored Chettinad; the old houses of the Merchant families, the temples, the antique shops - and of course the excellent food.

Chettinad is a little gem hidden in the central part of Tamil Nadu app. 400 km from Chennai. Some of the gem´s facets were revealed to us with the help of OWC member Lakshmi Chockalingam whose family not only own the loveliest Bangala (guest house) in the area, but also proved to be a very knowledgeable guide to all the interesting sights.

The beautiful houses
Chettinad is famous for the huge mansions which were built from fortunes made from overseas trading. Nowadays some of the mansions are deteriorating while others are still maintained and in use for huge family celebrations such as weddings. We marvelled at the magnificently carved wooden doors and pillars, wandered through houses that seemed never ending, stood in the inner courtyards trying to imagine how thousands of guests were catered for and listened to all the fascinating stories of the houses, the customs and traditions of the people living there.

The handicraft
There is more to Chettinad than the houses. We watched the fascinating process of tile making. We were introduced to the traditional Chettinad weaving and shopped till we almost dropped on the fine cotton material. We admired the way the silversmiths were shaping figurines. And last but not least we raided through the antique shops of Karaikudi for good buys to bring home.

The Big Temple
We visited a few Chettinad temples before moving on to the “Big Temple” which the magnificent Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur is called. No wonder this monument is on the World Heritage listing as it is absolutely the most fascinating temple I have ever seen. It is the highlight of Chola temple architecture. We were greeted by the temple elephant and then the huge Nandi (bull) created from a single piece of rock weighing 25 tonnes which makes it one of the largest Nandi statues in India. The dome itself weighs app. 80 tonnes and was hauled into place along a 4 km earthwork ramp in a manner similar to the ones used for the Egyptian pyramids - totally amazing! Walking on temple grounds we counted several linga (250 the guide book says) enshrined along the outer walls of the pillared halls and viewed lots of drawings made with natural colours depicting myths and the different gods.

Chettinad hospitality
We stayed in Lakshmi´s family guest house in Karaikudi which was a very pleasant experience, decorated and furnished in accordance with the original house. The food was excellent and the hospitality and patience with all our questions endless. Therefore I would like to say a big thank you to Lakshmi and her family for their tireless efforts to make our trip so memorable.