MANSIONSOFCHETTINAD
DOCUMENTATION BYDEEPSHIKASOORA
THE PLANNING OF CHETTINAD MANSIONS AND TOWN PLANNING.
HISTORY – Rise of building construction (domestic architecture of chettinad) – mid 19th century to mid-20th century.
SPATIAL PLANNING
- Nuclear family – PULI
- Joint family – VALAVU
- Extended joint family – PANGALIS
SITE PLANNING – Temples were located overlooked or near waterbodies and the residences rippled from the outer walls of the temples making the temple a FOCAL POINT.
STREET PLANS (access to plots) – Chettinad settlements - *Remarkable spatial uniformity –conscious planning – planned Grid streets creating rectangular plots from EAST to WEST.
STREETS – 8m wide.
HOUSE PLACEMENTS – Entrance on one street and exit (rear entrance) on another street. The houses stretch from 75m – 115m in length from North to South.
ORIENTATION OF LAYOUT OF HOUSES – The East – West layout of houses is oriented that way for experiencing the rising and the setting of the sun.
ARCHITECTURAL MANUAL USED – Indian architerctural manual used were Vaastu shastras, which was known as MANAIYADI SASTRAM in the chettinad regions. This Manaiyadi sastrams prescribed auspicious house layouts. This manual had insight on the social, spiritual and ritual practices of the people of chettinad, which along with the knowledge of Astrology helped in suggesting house layouts for the people of Chettinad regions.
PLAN LAYOUT OF HOUSES – The plans progress from the PRIVATE TO PUBLIC ZONES. It progresses through a sequence of doorways arranged in a straight line along a central axis from the EAST – WEST. A clear vision from the front to the rear of the house.
HOUSE LAYOUTS – The house layouts of the chettinad mansions have been constant over a 100 years. The chettinad houses were built for beliefs and conservative nature of the Chettiars.
HIERARCHY OF SPACES BASED ON GENDER – Hierarchy of the house is based on the emphasis of social levels based on the importance of gender.
HIERARCHY BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE FAMILY – Hierarchy is also based on pulli, valavu.
To the living spaces, spaces for business meetings and family celebrations, spaces to receive public (unknown visitors ect) were allocated.
CIRCULATION – Circulation between the zones in a chettinad mansion are articulated with external entrances which are visually shielded from internal corridors.
HOW ARE SPACES CONNECTED – A combination of open, semi-open and closed spaces express the movements in the house which create a spatial sequence which form typical chettinad mansions.
ZONES WITHIN THE MANSIONS
Chettinad mansions were planned in a sequence of zones along the axis from EAST TO WEST.
All elements collonades, small rooms, steps are aligned in a binary symmetry.
The houses are divided into 5 zones :-
1st zone – MUGAPPU, THINNAI
2nd zone – VALAVU, PATTALAI, NAADU VAASAL (formal courtyard)
3rd zone – IRANDAN KATTU (inner courtyard), Bhojana saalai,
4th zone – MOONRAM KATTU, SERVICE COURTYARD
5th zone – BATHING FACILITIES, TOILETS, THOTAM (garden).
THINNAI
– It is a semi- open space.It has one or two plinths. The edge of the plinths are lined up with columns and they carry the load of the angled and flat roof of the verandah.
–It is cool and habitable all throughout the day. Most business engagements happen on this thinnai. At the end of the thinnais, two rooms are located which are the offices for kanakupillais or clerks. It is furnished with low writing desks, large cupboards and metal safe to hold important records and cash.
MUGAPPU
-The entrance gate and thinnai are the outer most zone of chettinad and it is known as the Mugappu.
-The second zone is the VALAVU.
-The link between the Mugappu and the Valavu is maked by an ornate doorway which is the principal entrance of the house.
PATTALAI
- The chettinad mansions have an internal thinnai which is the first thing you encounter as soon as entering the mugappu. It is known as the PATTALAI.
- Pattalai repeats the features of the thinnai of the mugappu but unlike the thinnai, the pattalais is not intended for the visitors or public. It’s column supports a flat roof upon which rises another storey in the chettinad mansion.
HALL
- 1ST hall after pattalai or in some case instead of pattalais is where most expensive materials are displayed in the house.
- Architectural elements made of stone, chandeliers and mirrors, portraits of ancestors were displayed in the hall. It’s sometimes called KALYANAKOTTAI.
1st COURTYARD (NAADU VAASAL)
- OTS
- It is the focal point of the mansion along the E – W axis.
- It is the core of the house where all social gatherings and religious activities take place.
- The NAADU VAASAL is surrounded by colonnaded verandah (simple columns, stone columns, low sloping roofs).
- The verandah functions as a CORRIDOR known as PATHI.
- Rooms are located on the longer side of the NAADU VAASAL.
ROOMS
- The arais or rooms on either side of the naadu vaasal are also known as IRATTAI VEEDU or double rooms. It is consolidated to hold 2 chambers in each double room.
PUJA SPACE
- The inner chamber serves as a puja space for each pulli to worship GODS and their ancestors.
STEPS
- The narrow flights of stairs leading to the 2nd level are also aligned on the same sides as the arais. There are 4 sets of staircases in every chettinad mansion leading upto the 2nd level.
LEVEL 2
- 2nd level also consists of a verandah or pathi overlooking the courtyard with another line of arais for family members or guests.
DINING AREA
- The naadu vaasal linked by a NADAI (passageways) leads to the BHOJANA SALAI or the dining hall.
- This hall runs to the full depth of the house from N-S to accommodate as many people as possible.
IRANDAN KATTU
- This is the 3rd zone of a chettinad mansion and it is allocated for women and the children of the house. It is known as the Irandan Kattu.
- It is the most private part of the house and it consists of many components such as a private bhojana saalai, small inner courtyard surrounded by a simple verandah aligned with rooms for storage .
MOONRAM KATTU
- The MOONRAM KATTU, the 4th and the innermost zones could only be accessed by women and servants.
- These spaces were where activities like food preparation, utensils storage happens.
- They are also use for the storage of rice and other grains for the whole year in ceramic jars or in wooden or clay barrels.
SERVICE COURTYARD
- These activities as mentioned above take place around a simple courtyard with depressed floors where a well or cistern, mortar and grinding stones are placed for usage in household activities. This courtyard is known as the SERVICE COURTYARD.
- This courtyard is divided into two halves by a central roofed walkway which leads directly to the rear door of the house giving access to the street out back.
5TH ZONE
- Bathing facilities and toilets are located in the 5th and final zone of the house.
- This sometimes forms a THOTAM or garden, where herbs for cooking and flowers were grown.
- This was at times used as a cow shed as well .
MATERIALS
- Variety & extravagance in usage of materials express the wealth and taste of the home owners. They hired local craftsmen who specialised in working with the fine materials imported by the chettiars from all around the world.
- COLUMNS - The thinnais were lined up with circular wooden pillars which were first made out of local wood but later were replaced with Burmese teak or mahogany.
The pillars were raised with granite petalled bases so as to protect the wood from ground insects and water damage. The columns are rounded or fluted on occasion supported by wooden brackets on the ceiling curved into lotus buds at the end to imitate the granite base at the bottom.
- WOODEN BRACKETS – The wooden brackets were enhanced with tiny carvings of maidens as well as gods and goddesses which were derived from contemporary temple art.
- MATERIALS EPORTED – Burmese teak and Ceylonese satinwood were shipped in huge quantities to the port of nagapatinam and was then transported to chettinad through road by laborers
- Other usage of IMPORTED WOOD – These woods in addition to the columns were also used in the ceiling with carved panels and in angled vaults which is carried on with multiple tiers of curved brackets to roof corridors and halls.
- DOORWAY – The skill of the woodwork artisans was evident in the doorway set into the mugapu, the threshold between the public and private zones of the house. The doorway is carved out of Burmese teak, mahogany and rosewood which showcase the virtuoso carving. Borders of the doorway contains petalled carvings, cutout horse riders and rows of flying angels on the over hangs.
- LINTEL - The carving on the lintel and the panel above the doors of arais around the naadu vaasal are richly carved with deities like Goddess Lakshmi seated between elephants or Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati. The doors are plain in contrast to the lintel panels except for the heavy brass handles.
- FLOORING MATERIALS – Plaster was one of the most used flooring material in Tamil Nadu. Early chettinad houses used plaster for flooring with tints of red or black and was polished for gloss resistant to wear. These floors were replaced with baked tiles with geometric and floral patterns manufactured in the chettinad village of AATANGUDI.
- ROOF MATERIALS – Terracotta tiles are used for the sloping roofs
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- WALL FINISHES – Egg based plaster were used in the internal wall surfaces in chettinad mansions and painted plaster were used on the outer façade and the street gateway. Egg plaster was used in the front parts of the house, in kitchens and
service areas where this plaster is coated with black cement to avoid smoke damage.
- ORNAMENTATION - Exuberantly modelled figures of gods and goddesses, british soldiers, guardian figures were made out of plaster on the facades to exhibit the wealth and social prestige of the family. Parapets with ornate perforated designs in upper storeys, street gateways which replicate European type balustrades with rows of pots or vases topped with lions or peacocks. The parapets on upper storeys display dieties set within crested frames.
- COLORS – Vivid ochre, terracotta red and indigo add visual emphasis to chettinad mansions. The plaster coated arches in the front halls, the friezes beneath the ceilings and in the circular headed alcoves over doors and windows are adorned with figural and decorative painted designs in chettinad mansions. Lakshmi, saraswati, krishna playing the flute and the marriage of Meenakshi Sundareswarar were the most famous painting comositions at the time.
- EVOLUTION – In the course of the 20th century cement was being used for street facades with relief cement designs Stone is used in the interiors of the mansion while blocks of laterite are used as floor materials in courtyards and central walkways. Finely grained dark green or black granite were used for columns in thinnais and first hall as they were adsorbant to polish. Black and white square marble tiles imported from Carara, Italy were used as flooring on the thinnais and first halls. On the lower parts of walls in the chettinad mansion the british ceramic tiles with floral or bird patterns were embedded as they were less durable. English and Belgian glass chandeliers and mirrors etched with fine designs were important features in the first hall. Stained glass of local manufacture was used in the outer collonades and in some windows. Cast iron were used for external canopies, balconies and galleries
HISTORY OF THE CHETTIARS.
- The dwellings of nattukottai chettiars before 1850 were comparatively modest and was built in a scale which proves that the chettiars were not substantially wealthier than other communities in Tamil Nadu.
- The members of the chettiar community regulated as dealers of Rice from the rich Kaveri Delta of central Tamil Nadu, Salt from the deposits of coromandel coast, Pearls from the gulf of mannar.
- The chettiars travelled abroad to establish their enterprices in Rangoon, Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Colombo and even far aff lands like Saigon, Sumatra and Mauritius.
- They supported newly established business of timber, rubber, tea and coffee.
- Chettiars became reputed for their honest and efficient transactions and the meticulous record of all transactions kept all their finances accounted for.
- From these trades, the chettiars developed towards lending money, investing business ventures in and around the towns and villages of chettinad.
- The chettiars loaned money to the rajas of the states of Pudukottai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram (Ramnad) located at the fringes of chettinad.
- The chettiars’ role as chettinad gained attention from governors of madras presidency which led to them encouraging the chettiars to move to the newly established british colonies in Burma, the Straits settlements and Ceylon where they facilitated the development of timber, rice and rubber plantations
- The chettiars overcame the deep seated prejudice of sea travel and travelled to foreign lands for trades.
- The accumulation of wealth lead to increasing architecturally ambitious dwellings in the chettinad homeland. The conversion of a normal chettinad village house into extravagant mansions took place after the mid of the 19th century.
HISTORY OF CHETTINAD HOUSES
- The oldest dwellings of the Nattukottai Chettiars prior to the 19th century were traditional TamilNadu village houses which also contained feature attune to the evolved chettinad mansions.
Features like
- The entire house plot was raised to a level above street level.
- Orientation of the houses – EAST to WEST along a central axis where all elements of the house are in bilateral symmetry, angled roof of terracotta tiles carried on a wooden framework, the
- Thinnais had low plinth which was paved from the earthen floor coated in polish plaster and raised slightly above the street it faces, the roof structure above the thinnai is supported by line of circular wooden columns sitting on granite bases and embellished with petal like curved fluted incision at the top, the upper parts of the column also contain such fluted embellishments for the brackets.
- Intricate carvings on downward hanging flower buds were introduced in the brackets, hence the term PUSHPAPOTTIKA, THAMARAI MOTTU or LOTUS – BUD.
- The thinnai is divided into two equal plinths separated by a walkway which lead from the street to a wooden doorway in the mugapu.
- The doorway is elaborately treated with extremely intricate carvings adorning the jambs, panel over the lintel and the side brackets supporting the overhang.
- Chettinad houses had an inner thinnai roofing the corridors of the next level of the house.
- Beyond this is the courtyard (sunken by few inches) with colonnaded verandas on all sides. It is paved with laterite slabs or terracotta tiles which is designed to collect rain water and directs the overflow to a covered drain which leads outside to the drain beside the street.
- Colonnades supporting the courtyard are small, thin and made out of granite unlike in the thinnai. Simple thamarai mottu brackets hold the tiled roof sloping into the courtyard on all four sides bringing in rainwater for storage.
- Surrounded by these colonnaded verandas are the arais which are used for accommodation and storage.
- At the rear end of the courtyard is the repetition of the inner thinnais with all supporting columns.
- Beyond this space, at the rear extremity of the house is where the food preparations take place, it also consists of a well, motor and more store rooms and sometimes a cowshed.
The above mentioned scheme of housing was the typical planning of chettinad houses in the mid 19th century. These early dwellings are grouped into clusters running along both sides of the streets. Along with the streetscape, the faced of each houses developed with time.
AL.AR.ZAMINDAR’S HOUSE, DEVANKOTTAI. 1850
➢ This mansion starts with a veranda lined with wooden columns, tapering fluted shafts and ornate brackets which is divided into two by a central walkway.
➢ This veranda led to the mugapu with the massive wooden doorway with detail carvings and ornate overhangs leading to the inner thinnai.
➢ The vestibule after the thinnai has a roof with poined masonry vault which are painted with brightly colored lotus motifs.
➢ The columns along the lines of veranda around the thinnai are supported on fluted granite bases, wooden shafts or shafts with flutings and ornate brackets with thamarai mottu or pushpapottika designs.
➢ The next zone of the house leads to a more spacious courtyard where the 32 columns stand on ochre coloured polished plaster floors. These columns have simple octagonal shafts which help with the load bearing of the sloped roof shelter.
M.S.M.M HOUSE, KARAIKUDI.
➢ There was no central pathway dividing a raised space. This mansion was devoid of the idea of an external thinnai and therefore creating a centrally raised plinth entrance.
A.M.M HOUSE, PALLATHUR.
➢ Built in 1915, this mansion remains graceful and poetic. The double arcaded façade of this mansion projects into the garden.
➢ The house proceeds with a collonaded veranda and a thinnai with a part octagonal porch.
➢ -This leads to the vestibule, through which a double height hall can be accessed.
➢ The halls proceeding deeper into the house display cut-glass images, elegant chandeliers and contemporary European art nouveau furnishings.
➢ The granite columns, cistern and wooden implement rach in the service courtyard are typically local.
V.RM. V. HOUSE, KARAIKUDI. 1850
➢ This house is located facing south towards one of the temples overlooking an oorani in the old part of Karaikudi.
➢ This house emanates the grand scale and grandeur of chettinad mansions dating from before the mod of 19th century.
➢ The entryway leads to a verandah through a central walkway with arches embellished with stained glass panels carried on European style piers.
➢ The spacious thinnai with round wooden teak columns supported by fluted stone bases, finely carved wooden brackets with lotus blossoms at the end carry the load of the wooden ceiling.
➢ The wooden doorway along with the panel over the lintel at the mugapu showcases the craftsmanship of the woodworker’s craft.
➢ The residential courtyard beyond this zone has simple granite columns aligned along all four sides
➢ The red painted house is accentuated by small windows and ornamental niches.
RM. AR.AR HOUSE, DEVAKOTTAI.
➢ This mansion is a modernist garden villa.
S.M.RM.A. HOUSE, KOTHAMANGALAM.
➢ This mansion was a art deco villa.
S.O.SP. ODAYAPPA HOUSE, PAGANERI.
➢ Designed by a british engineer in 1937, this villa has both modernist and classical inspired details.
➢ Staircase is lit by windows with stained glass windows with stained glass panels in striking art deco patterns.
I.N.A. CHIDAMBARAM HOUSE, KANADUKATHAN. 1850
➢ This house with a simple plan id conxcealed from the street by a masonry fence and a stylish front gate topped with silver painted bulls.
➢ Stepping into the original level of the house, people can see the thinnai with 4 tapering teak columns carrying a wooden overhang.
➢ A magnificent door consisting of jambs with intricately worked foliation and beads, carved wooden strips with embellishments and ornated with grand brass handles and knobs.
➢ The door leads to the inner thinnai with tapering columns supported on fluted granite bases and topped by irnate wooden brackets.
➢ The columns are set on two raised floors cladded with aatangudi tiles.
➢ As the principle living space of the members of the family, this thinnai accommodates storage chests and furniture.
➢ This thinnai leads to a spacious open to sky court surrounded by slender granite columns carrying a steeply angled terracotta roof with axial gables.
S.T.S.S. HOUSE, KADIPATTI.
➢ This house is recognised by the twin octagonal towers with projecting wooden balconies.
➢ Three great halls dominate the interior, the 1st one is a double height space surrounded by red masonry columns carrying rounded arches (consists of paintings in vivid colours ), the 2nd hall is double height has no columns but has an upper wooden balcony with neo-gothic detailing on paintings, cast iron brackets and can be accessed by a double staircase at one end, the 3rd hall is reserved for dining area and its central courtyard has plain masonry columns, with stained glass panel windows on two levels.
