Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Into a bygone era Turn back the clock

When I finally reach my destination, I am surprised by the lack of opulence. Nothing announces this building which otherwise treasures decades-old history. A staffer emerges with a smile and folded hands and warmly ushers me into the front office where sits a gracefully greying Meenakshi Meyyappan, the owner.

The spacious, airy reception is fronted by a long verandah and roofed with sloping tiles bordered by dark green eaves. Meenakshi is busy signing the book Chettiar Heritage which she co-authored with her sister-in-law and brother. Once done, she turns to me with an endearing smile, “are you hungry?” She takes me around the sprawling 3.5 acres which house the 91-year-old property, belonging to the M.S.M. Meyyappan family. Elegant and classic, this boutique hotel is an improbable mix of the rustic and the refined. The heritage hotel, is a perfect place to chill out. The house is a world in itself, complete with the mandatory ‘thinnais’, the ‘valavu’ and the surrounding corridors with rooms branching.

Meenakshi’s enthusiasm to keep Chettinad’s intangible tradition alive is visible in every step taken inside this heritage guesthouse, once the club house of her husband’s family. Five months of renovation finally gave birth to The Bangala in the winter of 1999. From four to 13 rooms today, the Chettinad theme runs through them all with exquisite pieces of colonial furniture, Chettinad weave linen and cushion-covers, huge brass and copper vessels and sepia photographs, evoking an old-world charm. The furniture was once part of the house; the most marvellous of them all is a four-poster rosewood bed, inlaid with Italian tiles, coloured glass and intricate wood work. It has Belgian mirrors fixed on the front, back and the canopy. The regal bed finds place in the ‘honeymoon suite’.

However, eating out at The Bangala seems to be a serious business. Savouring authentic Chettinad cuisine and the personal care taken in being served make it a delightful experience. The Bangala is a classic Chettinad home converted into a comfortable minimalist retreat, the irrefutable logic being that guests are more likely to “linger in the dining room than in — the bedroom.”

For reservations call 04565 220221/250221 or 044-24934851/24934912 or email thebangala@gmail.com, bangala@airtelbroadband.in

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail