Century-old house of tycoon may be razed

Coimbatore: When Arcot Thoppaiya Mudali Thiruvenkataswamy Mudaliar (ATT Mudaliar) built his Bungalow in 1892, it was one of the first such bungalows to come up in the city with Italian marbles and glass window panes. Little did he know that a century later, this bungalow, originally called Mahalakshmi Illam, his pride and joy and one of only 10 heritage buildings in the city, will face the threat of demolition.
The Tamil Nadu Merchantile Bank, that functioned in the building for over 30 years, vacated the building in 2014. With over 1 lakh spent on its maintenance annually, the current owners of the house, the grandchildren of Thavasi Muthu Nadar, find it difficult to maintain it. Having bought the house in 1956, they have been paying for its upkeep all these years.
"This building is a testament to the city's rich heritage," said Rajesh Govindarajulu, a city-based historian. He said that A T T Mudaliar's father, Arcot Thoppaiya Mudaliar, had migrated from Arcot to live in the city.
He was into several businesses and was mainly an Abkari contractor (who sold country made liquor). After his father's demise, the family moved from Podanur and they set up this Bungalow in 1892. The bungalow had vast painted window panes, teak wood furniture, Italian marble and British architecture. "The paintings of lord Ranganatha, Gaja Lakshmi and Krishna can still be seen on the first floor," said Rajesh.
According to C R Elangovan, ATT Mudaliar used the ground floor as his house and the first floor was used for his meetings, office work and parties.
He was conferred the title of Rao Bahadur in 1897. He served as the municipal chairman of Coimbatore from 1900 to 1909. His son A T Krishnaswamy Mudaliar, also became the municipal chairman from 1943 to 1947. As per city historians, he was a well dressed man who always carried a pocket, wore a turban and coat.
"They came to the city for business but became social entrepreneurs. He has contributed to the construction of several schools and temples. There used to be a marble statue of A T T Mudaliar in front of the Town Hall clock tower. But we don't know what has become of it," said Perur Jayaraman, a city based historian. A T T Mudaliar's sons also set up palatial bungalows in the city. His elder son set up a bungalow in Race Course which has now become the Masonic medical centre.
C R Elangovan said that many such heritage structures in the city need to be preserved. "There are only a handful as the city's history can be traced back to just 200 years. If all these buildings are razed down, there would be no heritage left for future generations," he said.
"When we bought the house, it was functioning as a bank. We rented it to Tamil Nadu Merchantile bank in 1972 and they vacated the building only last year. We are looking at several revenue generating models such as turning it into a heritage hotel, or renting it out as a commercial space. We will decided what can be done with the space," said R Sadagopal, grandson of Thavasu Muthu Nadar.