Chettinad Columns

Some of the places where "chettinad columns" are for sale :

Karaikudi

Arasu Arts, Govindarajan, 40, MM Street, Karaikudi – 630 001, Sivaganga Dist. Tamilnadu

ph : 04565-4334020, 4338570, 4396790

Senthil Arts, 90/2, Ve.Vr.St. (Near Sathian Theatre) Karaikudi 630 001

ph : 04565-420030, 8550065

Venkateswara Furniture & Timber merchant, 65, MM Street, Karaikudi 630 001

ph : 04565-2421706, 2436238

Karaikal

Mr.Idris

He has an old house where he displays everything.

Mr.Ramanan

ph : 09842533046.

He knows several dealers in Karaikal and can suggest places where these columns are available.

Pondicherry

Ms.Kali Borg, Sharnga, Auroville. ph : 0413-2622337
mob : 94430-90114
kaliborg@hotmail.com
Kali deals in "antique furniture & building materials"

She is a stained glass artist too and also runs a guesthouse at auroville called 'Sharnga'. One can also check out the auroville website.

Chennai

1. Rani Arts
They make new furniture that looks like antique. (They also have chettinad columns, brackets, and so on). Located at McNicholas road, near Egah Theatre ph : 044-26422948/8843

2. Murray & Co.
Auctioneers, with a separate exclusive section of rosewood and teakwood antique furniture. One has to ask about it, not open to all walk-in customers. Since they are always on the look out for houses in Tamilnadu which are being dismantled, they may be able to acquire chettinad columns. ph : 044-28600880/55872437 . They are behind LIC building, on Mount road. Well-known and easy to find. But, best to call them first to see if they can get the columns, what price and when.

Bhimili

In India, there are mainly two kinds of architectural heritage that receive attention, the “Indian” heritage and the “Colonial” heritage, the latter mostly in the form of public buildings. There are government agencies, professional bodies, and concerned individuals working to conserve some of this urban heritage. On the other hand, there are many, many small towns spread all over the vast country that have quaint and historic streets which remain obscure and neglected. These are streets lined with hundred-year-old, tile-roofed houses that hold a record of the history of the place.

The houses are also a record of the indigenous building skills that have evolved over time, but they are now being demolished to be replaced by modern concrete constructions. The price of the land is now higher and more important than the price or the historic value of the house that sits on it.

Bimilipatnam is one such town near Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India. It was a historical trading town, whose importance diminished as a new port was developed in Visakhapatnam, 25 km away. Bimili is the second oldest municipality in the country. It has some English, some Dutch, and some Indian heritage.

Bimilipatnam having once been a Dutch settlement, the Netherlands embassy was willing to be part of an initiative which would involve the residents of the town, the Andhra Pradesh government, and local non-governmental organizations for its development with a view to restore and preserve the architectural and natural heritage of the town.

Built-heritage inTranquebar

Tranquebar is an old danish settlement, 100 km south of Pondicherry, in Tamil Nadu. It is now called Tharangambadi. Today, much heritage conservation work goes on here. The Neemrana group of hotels began to restore a dilapidated house some years ago. The 'Bungalow on the Beach' is now a heritage hotel.

The Bungalow, the Fort Dansborg and the waters of the sea in the serene environment of Tranquebar create together a very special experience.

The old bungalow facing the sea & the fort was adapted for re-use as a hotel by the INTACH pondicherry team . This has become the starting point for more restoration work also by a Danish foundation. Now, several more houses have been restored in Tranquebar.

Francis Wacziarg, Co-founder of Neemrana hotels believes that the interest in restoring heritage properties has been steadily increasing in different parts of the country. Earlier, people built a new house where the old one crumbled. Today, they want to consider converting it into a hotel. "We get about three proposals a week.” (Ramakrishnan, The Hindu Metroplus 2006)

Amongst the old maps of Tranquebar, Peter Anker's map gives a vivid picture of the Fort and the street patterns that were originally planned. Here is a link to the Old maps of Tranquebar and to the history of this town on the Coromandel coast.