Karaikudi A Rich History and Culture
My colleague Rajesh and I were going to Karaikudi village for the first time in 2010... When we opted to drive from Cochin, we had a break in Madurai, the nearest main city to Karaikudi… It was again almost 3 hour drive to reach the village in a sunny afternoon. We had a warm welcome at Visalam, a heritage Mansion converted as a heritage hotel by CGH Earth Group… It was amazing to be received in the traditional way... Felt at home…
Karaikudi is one among many small villages in Pudukkottai of Tamilnadu. The featuristic differences make these villages unique from that of South India. We don’t feel that we are in an Indian remote village. Its all disciplined here… Visalam situates at a place called Kanadukathan… WE were really astonished to see the numerous Mansions around and most of them were unoccupied as the owners are all settled abroad… This village has a history dates 100 or more years back and all these Mansions are more than one century old... Attankudi, another village in this area is popular for hand maid floor tiles which is being used in all these Mansions. We could also see a number of sculptors making stories on stones… The small small vegetable sellers around the typical village markets are a nice scene… People are extremely nice and friendly… The cuisine is also to be commented… As we were in a hurry, we could only taste the typical Karaikudi Tea and special “Murukku” made by our chef at Visalam…
When I decided to travel back to Karaikudi in September 2011,I had my other colleagues Dr Tomy from Germany and Mr Rajeev…I was in great thrill to be back in this cute village. This time we took a different corner to explore.WE were driving from Tanjore and we did not stop till we reached Pudukkottai for a breakfast…The tea shop owner was curious to know where we are going and when we told that we are going to Karaikudi he again asked whether we are going to Visalam… I was happy that they all know these places… Actually we had to go to a new place which was near to Thirumayan Fort… So it was easy to be guided… Thirumayan Fort is a really nice Fort which is well kept and we can’t see much Forts in South India. The Fort is under Archeological Survey of India but visitors are really limited as Karaikudi is yet to be explored by normal tourists.
Our guide was waiting in front of Thirumayan Fort to guide us to Chidambara Vilas Mansion. Again the drive was through exquisite villages and it was a nice scene that our guide was greeted by almost every one on the roadsides…This is a scene only be seen in close village life as everyone knows the other… Its really nice to have an address like that… The bye road leads to Chidambara Villas is packed with huge Mansions on both sides… But one can see these are all unoccupied for years… Chidamabara Vilas is 109 year old Mansion which is now restored like a Palace. Its an amazing piece of luxury and colour. The General Manager Mr Senthil welcomed us with all royalty… Ofcourse they were all informed about our visit… Except for the hot sun outside, Karaikudi was great this time again. WE took almost 2 hours just to see around the Mansion… I have no words to explain how elegantly they have restored the same and now they have the highest number of rooms to sell in Karaikudi… I am sure I will go back there next year again… I am by now nostalgiac on Karaikudi… I think it takes me back to my childhood I spent in my village…