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The "founder" so to speak of the family to which he belongs was one Satappa Ramanatha Muthiah Chettiar - 1840 to 1900



A native of Karikudi region in Chettinad. And a man of little education Some notes on P Chidambaram's lineageThe "founder" so to speak of the family to which he belongs was one Satappa Ramanatha Muthiah Chettiar - 1840 to 1900A native of Karikudi region in Chettinad. And a man of little education

This man belonged to the Nattukottai Chettiar community - a mercantile caste concentrated in the districts of Pudukkotai, Ramanathapuram, and Sivaganga - in south-western Tamil Nadu (shown in map)

The Nattukottai Chettiar community are also known as "Nagarathars" - a Sanskrit derived term, literally meaning "town dwellers"



The caste was traditionally engaged in salt trading, who likely ventured into moneylending and finance post 17th century during colonial period





During the 19th century, many Chettiars moved up the social ladder, and "Chettiar mansions" such as these became a common feature of Chettinad Now what caused the community's rise during the British Raj requires a deeper study, which doubtless has been undertaken by someoneDuring the 19th century, many Chettiars moved up the social ladder, and "Chettiar mansions" such as these became a common feature of Chettinad

Now the patriarch of this particular family - Ramanatha Muthiah Chettiar - who we mentioned in the first tweet - was a moneylender with business interests in Ceylon, Burma, and Malaya





Also founded a "Nagarathar" choultry for his community folk at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi He was renowned for his philanthropy, and apparently donated several lacs of rupees to the renovation of the great Nataraja Temple at ChidambaramAlso founded a "Nagarathar" choultry for his community folk at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi

Muthiah Chettiar had three sons -



Chidambaram Chettiar - a man who purchased the zamindari of Andipatti, a town near Madurai



Diwan Bahadur Ramaswami Chettiar - founder of Indian Bank in 1907



and



Annamalai Chettiar (1881 - 1948) - the maternal grandfather of P Chidambaram





He was a co-founder of Indian Bank along with his brother - a bank that came into existence when Madras was hit by a financial crisis following the failure of Arbuthnot & Co - the leading bank in the city Annamalai Chettiar was perhaps the most distinguished of the threeHe was a co-founder of Indian Bank along with his brother - a bank that came into existence when Madras was hit by a financial crisis following the failure of Arbuthnot & Co - the leading bank in the city

Annamalai was also a member of the "Council of State" - the upper house that succeeded the "Imperial Legislative Council" following the Montagu Chelmsford reforms



He was bestowed with knighthood in 1923 and the title "Raja of Chettinad" in 1929

Wiki also tells me that he was among the first governors of Imperial Bank of India - the predecessor of the modern State Bank of India



But I can't confirm it



Annamalai was also the founder of Annamalai university in 1929 - one of India's oldest private universities

Our man P Chidambaram is the son of Annamalai's daughter



But Annamalai also had 3 sons -



MA Muthiah Chettiar (1905 - 1984)

MA Ramanathan Chettiar

MA Chidambaram (1918 - 2000)



Among these the first and the third were particularly illustrious





Mayor of Madras



Minister in Madras Presidency's govt in 1936 as part of the anti-Brahmin Justice Party (the chief opposition to Congress in Madras)



And

Member of the Constituent Assembly Muthiah Chettiar was a banker like his ancestors. And a man of several other distinctionsMayor of MadrasMinister in Madras Presidency's govt in 1936 as part of the anti-Brahmin Justice Party (the chief opposition to Congress in Madras)AndMember of the Constituent Assembly





Unlike his family members, his interests were in Aluminum and Petrochemicals



Best known today of course for the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai (Chepauk) The youngest son MA Chidambaram (Chiddu's youngest maternal uncle) was a great patron of cricketUnlike his family members, his interests were in Aluminum and PetrochemicalsBest known today of course for the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai (Chepauk)





His son AC Muthaiah followed in his dad's footsteps, and was also the head of BCCI for a brief while in the early 2000s Chidambaram served as the head of BCCI for several terms in the 50s and 60sHis son AC Muthaiah followed in his dad's footsteps, and was also the head of BCCI for a brief while in the early 2000s

Now let's go back to Annamalai's eldest son - the Justice Party politician Muthiah Chettiar



He had 2 sons, one of whom was MAM Ramaswamy (1931-2015) - a famous race horse owner, and one of the richest men in Chennai in his time



Also a member of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka (JDS)

That's a brief survey of some prominent individuals in the Muthiah Chettiar clan!



Whose great grandson today is in a bit of a fix









amazon.com/Caste-Capitali… Post-Script : @arpitrage brings to notice this book on Nattukkotai Chettiars - perhaps worth reading





Ilayathakudi

Iluppaikkudi

Iraniyur

Mathur

Nemam

Pillayarpatti

Soorakudi

Vairavan

Velangudi @arpitrage Another tidbit : I learn that traditionally much of the Chettiar population was associated with nine temples all in the Chettinad region or thereabouts -IlayathakudiIluppaikkudiIraniyurMathurNemamPillayarpattiSoorakudiVairavanVelangudi

Nataraja temple not among these of course, though the patriarch of this particular family has bestowed a lot on that temple



I am not too familiar with these nine temples (I think all of them are Shaivite)



Interesting to note that the Chettiars in each temple were exogamous!

So Chettiars associated with one of these 9 temples would not marry Chettiars from the same temple! A system akin to the exogamy of Gotras!

Post-script 2 : I have used the term Chettiar somewhat loosely in this thread, when I actually meant "Nattukottai Chettiars" - a specific branch



Don't have much clue about other Chettiar branches which doubtless exist

Besides this family, some of the other prominent Chettiars that come to mind -



AV Meiyappan Chettiar - Founder of AVM Studios

Murugappa Chettiar - Founder of Murugappa group

RK Shanmukham Chetty - India's first finance minister

and

Raj Chetty, the great economist at Harvard

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