The PROPERTY


In the tradition of old sprawling joint family homes, Kariappa House also has different apartments and buildings that flow into one another. It is a cluster of interconnected houses in a half acre land, interspersed with tropical gardens and courtyards and a covered swimming pool.
We spent 5 years restoring and re-creating all the houses in a mix of traditional and contemporary styles which resonated with us and used natural material like wood and stone and lime. The interiors have been furnished with antique furniture, rich Indian textiles, locally made pieces of ceramic and art.
Two of the structures are restored Tamil Houses, the main house is re-created in a typical Franco-tamil style and the more contemporary 1970s addition has been modified into a bungalow which is called MANTRA.
Luscious tropical garden, water bodies, courtyards and a lap pool create fluid space around the houses, giving sufficient privacy to each.
The family does not live here full time and hence most of the houses/rooms are now unoccupied. Some areas are retained as private quarters.

Kariappa House is named after Jyoti’s ancestors on her Father’s side of the family who come from the region of Coorg in India.
Needless to say, the house is dedicated to the memory of her parents:
Major C M Cariappa and Indu Behl Cariappa.

Read More...

Mobirise

The restoration of the Tamil Houses

There are two modest size tamil houses which originally belonged to local families who had moved away and the houses were falling apart. We have restored them and have retained their original foundation and mud mortar walls. The rooms are small and quaint and one has to bow the head low to clear the main door, as is the tradition. 

Mobirise

The Franco-tamil style

The main building has been built in the traditional Franco-tamil style that is a hallmark of Pondicherry's
heritage. Every bit of the construction, mataerials used and the finishes, fall back and draw from the practices which were used in the early 1800s and later,
Most of these features are well documented by Intach and they are available as a ready resource for restorations.


The teams that worked to create Kariappa House...

Mobirise

The three teams that helped give shape to our dream and deserve almost all the credit are:
-INTACH PONDICHERRY, Architect Arul and his team and Mr. Das, the Civil Engineer are now almost our family. 
-VIVA CONSTRUCTION, Viviya C Reddy, a young and dynamic building contractor. This was her first project of this kind and she has now learnt much about Restoration of Heritage buildings under the tutelage of Arul and Mr. Das and is ready to take on new projects.

Site was created with Mobirise