Award 1998

Donator: Amis du Patrimoine Pondichérien

French-Tamil house and M.C.A. Kalathi Chettiar’s main residence. This house is one of the best examples of a French architectural taste façade, it shows the symbiosis between the French and the Tamil styles.

Today’s owner’s grandfather had it built about 125 years ago and it was also used in the early 19th century as a literature salon. The interest of this building has provoked restorations in 1993 with help of the French government, during the operation: “Sauvez les vielles maisons de Pondichéry!” (Save Pondicherry’s ancient houses).

The renovations were only made on the façade; today, the house owner tries to work on the interiors with ancient materials.