Annamalai Chandramouli, the manager-caretaker of the magnificent Chettinad mansion and also one of the very few Chettiars you’d catch up with in the region came back home to enjoy a peaceful life of retirement after years of business expeditions. Now, he entertains curious tourists at his mansion, talking to them about everything—how his grandfather built the mansion in 1902 and how it took ten years to complete it. He will also tell you about how he now reduces that pinch of chilly powder in a curry to suit the palate of his foreign guest who is served the mouth-watering Chettinad cuisine—an extensive menu ranging from idlis to numerous chutneys, from spicy sambhars to two types of vadai, from pepper chicken to meen kozhambu.

Apart from architecture and cuisine, when you walk along the narrow village streets, you notice the tiled roof homes of the villagers engaged in the various crafts. Here you can buy handmade Athangudi tiles (named after the village where they are made), intricately carved wood work, beautifully sculpted brass and silver ware, handwoven kandangi sarees and baskets woven from date-palm leaves directly from the artisans who bake, sculpt or weave them.

On your trips around the villages, you will also see the grand sculpted temple towers, along with the temple tanks or oornis diligently designed so as to store water in a naturally barren region. The famous temples of the region are the Pillayarpatti and Avudayarkoil, the rich architecture of which reflect the Pandya and Pallava styles.
Karaikudi is the perfect holiday destination for an architecture enthusiast, an antique hunter, a total foodie or just anyone who cherishes memories of good food under a beautifully carved roof.

... contd.