Chettinad: Palace, palette and food for thought

WHAT MAKES IT INDIAN

The journey there, through hours of pastoral landscape (and an almost too-perfect biryani stop), left me with an unsettled thought: how does one even approach a typology so shadowed by troubled origins? The word palace itself feels suspect. Despite lacking royal lineage, Chettinad mansions are often branded as palaces simply because their scale and extravagance rival those of dynastic courts. Yet if legitimacy is the measure, the palace is hardly an ideal typology to aspire to. Across India, many so-called palaces were little more than colonial constructs: erected by rulers with scant authority, paraded as monuments of ill-gotten wealth or dressed up as modernist gestures while being comfortably insulated by privilege. THE Lotus Palace in Chettinad, however, unsettles this equation. For, unlike the impostures of royalty, its story is not one of exaggeration but of a mercantile community that built its fortunes abroad and returned to inscribe that prosperity in stone, timber and tile — an architecture of unapologetic excess.

As evening sets in, we gather in one of the courtyards of the mansion. The space around us feels like an atlas of history. The floors are lined with Atangudi tiles, said to have been inspired by Japanese patterns, while chandeliers hang from the ceiling, evoking Belgian glass sculptures that once illuminated these halls. Above us, Burma teak beams and intricate carvings narrate a story of foreign influences and temple tales woven into local craftsmanship. The Chettiars, after all, built their fortune through trade in Southeast Asia under colonial support. So how was this an example of Indian architecture? It is here that Priya Paul, Chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, offers a resolution. Having first visited Chettinad nearly 25 years ago, she was struck by the beauty of these ornate mansions. “Inside these grand homes, the Chettiars were living Indian lives, for instance, they were dining on the ground and sleeping in the courtyards,” she smiles. And yet, over a multi-course meal prepared by Chef Niyati Rao, the mind behind Bombay Daak and Ekaa, alongside Ashutosh Nerlekar from THE Park Chennai, the question continues to linger. But what constitutes an Indian identity, both at a time when the idea of India itself was an elusive concept and now, centuries later, when national identity remains a charged and contested matter?

“While the visual splendour of these homes is undeniable, it is important to reflect on the ideologies that shaped their design, whether or not we agree with them”

IDENTITY AND ENTANGLEMENT

Like the notion of a country, architecture too writes itself in grey, reflecting the sum of our collective values. While the visual splendour of these homes is undeniable, it is important to reflect on the ideologies that shaped their design, whether or not we agree with them. Studying the plan of the mansions would reveal a series of courtyards, the ones in the front for men and the second reserved for women. As the former travelled across the world, it was the latter stayed back to manage the accounts and investments.

The following morning, as we watch traditional snacks being prepared and taste the famous nannari, Priya reflects on how heritage hotels are revitalising local communities. “We employ people from the area, we celebrate local food, and we offer authentic experiences,” she says, “Many of our staff have worked here for generations, and by keeping them employed in their own village, we help preserve the heritage of the place.” In this way, their success lies not just in preserving architecture but in reinvesting in the community.

We visit the home of Meyyammai Murugappan, a food historian, chef and author who has spent her life in Chettinad. Surrounded by the elaborate art and artefacts, you’ll almost miss the elevated plinths in the architecture designed to prevent flooding. This architectural feature is part of a broader story about Chettiar design, which evolved in response to both natural disasters and centuries of migration, trade and cultural exchange.

The Chettiars’ story is tightly interwoven with their role as traders in the ancient port of Kaveripattinam, which was destroyed by a tsunami, forcing the community to relocate inland. “The term Nagarathar, meaning ‘town-dweller,’ reveals much about their urban identity. These were not rural people; they were part of a cosmopolitan merchant class whose connections reached as far as Rome and Greece,” elucidates columnist V. Sriram. This wealth is reflected in the architectural splendour and exotic objects that filled their homes, such as the Burmese pottery, enamelware and other treasures that tell the story of their far-flung travels. As the Chettiars moved from villages to cities, their global sensibilities remained evident in the antique shops now filled with remnants of the now-abandoned mansions.

TASTING TIME

On my last day in Chettinad, a member of the staff, whose family owns another Chettinad mansion on the same street, tells us about the kolam. A spatial marker into which each community in South India embeds its identity. In this case, like the grid-iron urban planning of the Chettiars, the kolam reflects their deft geometry. A reminder that, even in the face of changing times, as the community moves forward and away from the quaint colourful village, it is the everyday rituals that keep their legacy alive.

Murugappan’s The Chettinad Cookbook contains multitudes of stories carried forward by food. From the scrumptious Chettinad Chicken with the aromas of pungent black pepper, a spice that dominated the colonial trade routes, to the dried fish and meat uppukandam that accompanied them on long voyages, the culinary legacy of the community carries an imprint of the mercantile lives. “We brought the black rice from Burma, but it was only after we added the coconut milk did the flavours bloom,” quips Murugappan. Global ingredients brought together by Indian ingenuity.

Liked THE Lotus Palace by THE Park? Read next about the Jaipur House in Mount Abu! A thing of beauty: This heritage hotel in Jaipur makes us question the eye of the beholder