WHY VISIT CHETTINAD / KARAIKUDI
Karaikudi and 74 other villages comprise Chettinad, the homeland of the Nattukottai Chettiars. The Chettiars were a prosperous banking community who ventured overseas to do business in Southeast Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their legacies are the fascinating houses of Chettinad they built. These are houses have to be seen to be believed and this would justify a trip to Chettinad
Just being discovered by the world, Chettinad is a rural area certain to surprise even the most discerning visitors. Apart from the houses, Karaikudi offers extensive antique shopping, weekly shandy [village market], a number of temples, visits to Craftsmen working with wood and metal, silversmiths and goldsmiths, attractive Textiles and most important the exciting Chettinad Cuisine.
Sadly this legacy is fast disappearing. Unable to maintain these houses, the houses are rapidly crumbling and are being plundered for their antique contents. Some photographs showing the effect of this can be seen in "Here". We hope the development of Tourism will be an incentive for preserving this unique legacy.
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