Homes that house history

INTACH Madurai Chapter’s Heritage Home Hunt initiative brought to fore the need to preserve old houses and to see them as storehouses of stories and not just shelters

August 20, 2014 05:37 pm | Updated 05:37 pm IST - MADURAI:\

A heritage home at Athangudi. Photo: Special Arrangement

A heritage home at Athangudi. Photo: Special Arrangement

“Our house is nothing less than a palace. I maintain it like a temple,” says Valliammai Aachi, about the 130-year-old Renganthan Chettiar Mansion in Athangudi. She takes pride in the ornate teak-wood pillars, fresco-painted ceilings and the grand mutram of the house. “It’s an exemplary work of art conceived by our forefathers,” she says. For Ashok, owner of the famous ‘ Rettai Gopuram Veedu ’ or the twin-tower house at Virudhunagar, his house is a proud legacy. “It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. People there continue to see it with sanctity and revere us as a patriotic family,” says Ashok. Likewise, Karupanan’s 110-year-old house in Sholavandan was visited by Jawaharlal Nehru. “We have a plaque at the entrance mentioning the event,” beams Karupanan.

As many as 40 participants from five districts around Madurai took part in the Heritage Home hunt, an initiative by INTACH Madurai Chapter to identify houses that are at least 75 years old. The heritage home owners were awarded at a felicitation function last Sunday at LAICO Hall. Many of the owners shared stories and history behind their houses. As part of the initiative, a team of historians, conservation architects and students embarked on the mission to track down heritage homes in the districts of Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Dindigul and Theni. “We were able to identify hundreds of homes,” says Rajesh Kanna, Co-Convener of INTACH Madurai. “Our aim was to look at how people value and maintain their houses. We gave more preference to century-old houses where family members continue to live for generations. We also took into account the modifications done to the original structure. The next step to the home hunt would be to document the aesthetics of the architecture and the antiquity of the construction techniques.”

“There are a number of heritage houses lying vacant and locked around the temple area in the heart of Madurai. But people are unaware of the worth and value of these houses,” says Rajesh Kanna, who branched out into the outskirts like Navinipatti, Sholavandan, Usilampatti and Mangalum near Melur, where many antique houses were identified. “Most old houses have unique features. Some of the materials used were even imported,” says Srividya, whose 120-year-old Mathalai Nadar house in Virudhunagar is known for the vibrant stained-glass ventilators. “During the day, the glasses cast a wonderful glow into the living room. As my grandfather was a seafarer, he brought in tiles from Italy and Myanmar for the house,” says Srividya.

Inhabitants of the heritage homes also consider the houses as the symbols of their ancestors. Some of them consider the homes as harbingers of good luck. Says Dr.V. Mohan, who lives in a joint family in his 80-year-old house in Perungudi, “We have seen over 100 successful child births in the house. For about 40 years from 1930, before the noon-meal system was introduced, we used to feed all the children in our village in this house.” K.V.S. Pandian also has similar sentiments attached to his 75-year-old house in Virudhunagar. “I have preserved the belongings of my grandfather in a separate room. He built the house and I believe his soul still resides here.”

The project also highlighted the need to preserve the houses. Nachiappan from Athangudi shared how he successfully renovated the house his grandfather built in 1930 without doing any major structural changes. “This has given hope to people owning heritage homes in Athangudi. They rethink and opt to renovate instead of selling or demolishing the old structures,” says Nachiappan. Conservation architect G. Balaji says, “Houses in the olden days were built in compliance with the elements of Nature. The materials were sourced locally and were eco-friendly and bio-degradable. The purpose of the mutram was to let rain and sun-light into the house.”

Historian Dr. R. Venkatraman explained the evolution of the concept of housing and Vastu Shastra in ancient India. “The concept of bungalows was first brought in by the British. But even before that we had havelis and kottais,” he says. “So, luxury living was not new to India. Most of our heritage homes also had ample space and areas earmarked for various purposes, even for the pet animals. For instance, every old house had a cowshed in the backyard.”

INTACH is continuing the home hunt and is welcoming more entries. Owners of heritage houses may visit >www.intachmadurai.org to know more.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.