We drove to Karaikudi from Trichy, it was less than 2 hours drive. There are so many butterflies crossing us. Though the areas were dry and not much greenery around, surprised to see a lot of butterflies through out the stretch.
We visited Athangudi Palace, few kms before Karaikudi. It is a small village and one has to take muddy roads to reach the village. There are many such Chettiar houses in the surrounding villages. Most of them are more than 100 years old and the next generations of the families left the places for development. What remains is the mansion and the people who are stuck to talk about its legacy.
There was a entry fee to look at some parts of the palace and there is a brief overview of the palace given. There are 64 rooms in the palace excluding the grand hall, kitchen and other common amenities. Its said, tiles are from Japan, teak wood from Burma and marbles from Italy. I could not appreciate the grandness when such palaces are surrounded by under or no development.
We stopped at Thirumayam Fort in the highway and is maintained by ASI. It had a good view of the surrounding villages. It has a rock cut shiva temple, a bastion at the top that was used during the British period.
நான்.. இன்று.. என் பார்வையில்... 