Destination Chettinad: heritage festival spotlights the region’s food, culture and arts

Chettinad’s rise as a global, cultural destination is strengthened every year by a four-day heritage festival that introduces the world to the ways of the Nattukottai Chettiars

At the centre of the turbulent Karaikudi market, coloured by daily life, is an unexpectedly quiet oasis: a functional home, aged 108, where nine generations have lived and laughed, shared and fought, celebrated and cried. Lovingly referred to as periya veedu by the family, parts of the dining courtyard of this Chettiar mansion is now a jewellery store. Yet, a peek through the ornate doorway reveals a grand courtyard showing signs of daily life: perhaps a clothesline, or the odd silverware of steaming hot sundal. 

A Chockalingam, the reticent seventh-generation part-owner, welcomes this writer in with an elaborate tour — he speaks of his moneylender grandfather who migrated to West Bengal from Burma, the 13 functional kitchens meant for as many daughters-in-law, the infamous split-system that ensures that every single member of the family — up to the last grandchild — gets their fair share of the temple prasadam; and the low doorways. “Even if God comes to this house, he has to stoop to enter. Humility is important,” he declares. 

Only a few kilometres away, stands the “relatively new” 80-year-old Sentheniyar veedu: a spatial marvel divided in multiples of six, equal to the number of sons born to the family. Here, each room is a world in itself. Family photos documenting milestone moments adorn walls that open to kitchens. Kasthuri Ramanathan who belongs to the fifth generation of the family that owns this house says, “My grandfather turned 90 three weeks back and we celebrated here. The entire family had assembled then.” The family to this day celebrates weddings, prayer meetings and festivals at the house.  

While Chettinad’s undeniable charm lies in its opulent mansions, turn a corner to find beauty in the most unexpected facade; some locked up, some descending into slow ruin, and surprisingly a few still in regular use. It was to honour and save these mansions, 20% of which was at the stage of being brought down — markers of the rich cultural tapestry woven by the mercantile Nattukottai Chettiar community as early as the 19th Century — that the Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival was first conceptualised three years back. 

Over the years, under the austere watch of Meenakshi Meyappan of The Bangala — fondly referred to as aachi — the festival which recently concluded its third successful edition spearheads the revival of a region comprising 76 villages spread across Sivaganga and Pudukottai districts.

Aachi is 90, yet, remembers all her guests by name and face. “Everyone tells me that the festival has increased business [around the region], but the local Chettiars are not coming. I would like more and more people from the community to come back to their homes,” she says, between welcoming her guests, and recognising faces from afar. 

Though its recognition as a UNESCO heritage site proved a turning point for the region, the festival’s contribution to putting Chettinad on the global map has been big. “In our community itself, there has been a real transformation. We have NRIs who want to bring their children to the festival. We look at our own festivals and rituals with more curiosity now,” says Krishna Meiyappan, one of the trustees.