Chettinad In India

Chettinad, a place known for mansions, cuisines, temples and saris, is an attractive town in the district of Sivaganga in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Chettinad was an ancient kingdom with Karaikudi as the capital. Chettinad consists 74 more villages apart from Karaikudi. 

Chettinad is the home of the famous community known as Nattukottai Chettiars (Nagarathar) and hence the name Chettinad (the land of Chettiars). Chettiars are people who carry out business and banking in a prosperous way and hence the Chettinad has a prime stance in the economy and business of Tamil Nadu state. Chettinad Saris with dramatic colors, fiery designs and patterns of checks, stripes etc are now mostly out of market. 

Chettinad is renowned for the mouth watering Culinary delicacies. Chettinad cuisines, mostly spicy, attract many tourists to this town. Magnificent bungalows, palaces, castles and imposing houses are all very attractive in Chettinad. There are huge bungalows constructed during 18th and 19th centuries which can show case architectural marvels of the Chettinad community. Peacock dances are believed to be originated in Chettinad. All temple festival showcases eye feasting peacock dances. 

Chettinad is know for its impressive temples as well. Most of the Chettinad temples are originally built by Tamil Dynasties such as Chola Kingdom. One major feature of the Chettinad temples is the temple tank (Oorani) in the premise for growing water lilies useful for temple rituals. Kottaiyur Sivan temple, Vairavan Kovil temple, Kandanur Sivan Temple, .Karpaga Vinayakar temple and Kundrakudi Murugan temple are few important temples in Chettinad.

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