Heritage buildings of Coimbatore get a new look

Renovated heritage buildings - Kuthirai Vandi Court and Governor’s Bungalow- that are over 150 years hold a mirror to a bygone era where jatkas lined up the city roads

Coimbatore’s Kuthirai Vandi Court, a handsome building of the British-era that kept a vigil on horse cart owners cranked to a halt in the 1990s. Over the years, this masonary structure built mostly with lime mortar and brick, became a rundown dusty labyrinth till it was taken up for renovation by the heritage division of the Public Works Department (PWD) a few years ago. Resurrected from ruins, this building on two acres of land next to the arterial Avinashi Road stands testimony to a time when horse carts served as last-mile connectivity for people from railway stations to towns.

While heritage structures and monuments act as a link between the present and a bygone era, they also offer a peek into the history, trade, and culture that flourished in the region. Constructed in 1863 by the British to house courts, the building came to be called Kuthirai Vandi Court after drivers of horse-drawn carriages were fined here for traffic violations. “It’s the first court campus I entered wearing my advocate court,” reminisces artist V Jeevananthan. He studied law and practised for a few years before becoming a full-time artist and later an award-winning author of books on cinema.

“In the 1980s, this munsif court, a Victorian style building with high pillars, terraced roofs, wooden beams, and wooden ceiling, had a large floor with ample space housing over four criminal court sittings with judges. Offenders of petty cases would be remanded here. Other cases went to the Judicial Magistrate courts that operated at the Collectorate premises. Junior lawyers wearing gowns, sweating head to toe as we rushed from this court to attend calling work at the other court is a vivid memory,” says Jeevananthan recalling his childhood trips to Marudhamalai on a jatka.

Coimbatore had traffic rules and laws in place regarding horse cart transportation. To begin with, the riders needed a horse cart license that had to be renewed annually. The owners were also expected to maintain the carts in good condition, with leaf springs, wooden steel-rimmed wheels, locking-pin, flat-steel tyre, and most importantly a functional lantern and bell. When a horse cart man was caught violating traffic rules, he was punished with a fine which he had to pay in the munsif court.

Historian K Varun says the building was functional till the late 1990s. “The ruin started from the 1970s when the roof started falling apart,” he says adding that there were about 2000 horse carts in the city in the 1970s. Jeeva also witnessed auctions at the court. “Goods seized by the court, and other court properties like cupboards, fans will be disposed off by auctions. Most buyers from the SMEs segment quoted cheap prices and delayed the process that left the judges fuming.”

Another noteworthy building that is being restored by the PWD is the palatial two-storeyed Governor’s Bungalow on Trichy Road. “It belongs to the Sulur House family that owned 3500 plus acres of land in prime areas of Coimbatore,” says city chronicler Rajesh Govindarajulu adding that they migrated to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka in the 18th century. “They were generous landlords. They owned properties in Race Course, Avinashi Road and richy Road. In Race Course, their bungalow used to be called ‘elandha kottai bunglaow’ because the place was full of elandai pazham (Indian plum) trees. Cosmopolitan Club came up in the land that was purchased from them in 1891. Sulur Narasimha Iyer from the family was the first Diwan ahadur from the Coimbatore region. He donated his family lands generously for expansion works on Trichy Road,” says Rajesh.

The Sulur Subba Rao bungalow on Trichy Road hosted government officials like Arthur Hope who served as the governor in the 1940s. “We cannot call them palaces, but polished residences for dignitaries. Governors usually arrived with their entourage of cooks, translators and secretaries. There were special cutlery for the VIPs. These buildings are slices of history.” Rajesh reasons that restoring heritage properties make cultural and economic sense. “We can keep the place buzzing by adding a museum, cafeteria, themed restaurants, art and crafts corner that can serve as reminders of the rich past.”