Chettinad Palace

     Chettinad Palace is an outstanding specimen of the Chettinad architecture.  The oldest surviving building of this style, the Chettinad Palace was built by Dr Chettiyar, founder of the Indian Bank and the Annamalai University in Chidambaram.  Dr Chettiyar was given the honorary title of “Raja” as he was the owner of 90 villages, which comprised the area called Chettinadu. Chettinadu extended 25 km from north to south and 15 km from west to east.  The Chettinad Palace was designed by Dr Chettiyar and given the form by the local masons. The basic style of architecture reflects traditional architectural style of Chettinad.  The construction material, decorative items and furnishings were mostly imported from East Asian countries and Europe.  The marble was brought from Italy, chandeliers and teak from Burma, crockery from Indonesia, crystals from Europe and wall-to wall mirrors from Belgium.  The woodwork and stone work was inspired that of the houses in France and other European destinations. The verandah is just next to the iron-gate and was converted into the waiting area for the visitors.  The flooring of the waiting area is done with white marble. The meeting hall is decorated with several pairs of tusks one of them is over 8ft long and shipped from South Africa.  There are also the portraits of family members and a collection of colored crystal.  The ceiling has artistic patterns in vegetable dye over roofing plates made of copper soldered with a special variety of aluminum.  The walls are made 1.5 ft to 3 ft wide to keep the interiors cool without the use of any electronic equipment like the air conditioners.  The no cementing agent was used in the construction and the bricks are bound together with a paste of egg white, the extract of an unripe medicinal fruit found in the hills of Kadukkai and lime grind. A puja room in a corner of the courtyard is the place where Rani Seethai Achi, wife of Dr Annamalai Chettiyar, spent most of her time.  Rows of aruamanai or the iron blades are hung on shelves outside the kitchen, meant for cutting vegetables and grating coconut.  There is also a small dining room for private dinners with an extendable rosewood table. The room has photographs and paintings of the British days.  This dining area has its own kitchen and a storeroom.  The first floor comprises mainly of bedrooms and living rooms that are not open to outsiders.