Transient Communities: A Search for Identity through Ethnicity (page 6)

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The third zone is the service zone in the form of courtyard for cooking and Serving food. The toilets also are located here. Sometimes there are exclusive bhojana halls to serve food. The Central axis is how ever maintained and the planning is Symmetrical.

Some Viduthis are divided into two, three or four divisions, paralleling each with their own central axis about which it is planned. These axes run parallel to each other starting at their respective entrance with well detailed main door flanked between the colonnaded thinnais on either side. The Illupakkudi Viduthi has two divisions, one for administrative functionalities and other for performing rituals. The soorakudi Viduthi and Pillayarpatti Karpaga Vinayagar Nagarathar Viduthi has exclusive bhojana halls. The Mathur Viduthi is the biggest of all. It has two divisions with a common wall between them. Both the halves are accessed from the main road. The western half, with more elaborate entrance is further divided into three smaller divisions running parallel to each other and perpendicular to the thinnai. At Pillayarpatti, there is an exclusive Viduthi for women pilgrims called Pillayarpatti Karpagavinayagar Nagarathar Pendir (women) Viduthi.

Nagaraviduthi at Chennai: Nakarattars first built Viduthis wherever they migrated to establish business.' The first Viduthi to be built in Coral Merchant Street, George Town was the Devakottai Nagara Viduthi run by the Pazhaya (old) Dhandayuthabani' Trust established nearly 250 years back. Clan members belonging to five families established this holding held money lending and exchange Shops' at this venue. Any Nagarathar who intended going overseas for trade, exchanged the money they brought with them for a receipt which was something like today's demand draft called "therisana Undiyal" meaning "kandathum Kodu" (give money immediately on seeing this). The traders took this to their place of trade overseas and exchanged it into money in similar shops established there by Nagarathars. This helped the Nagarathars in safety, security and ease of money transaction when travelled overseas. This system was said to be the forerunner of banking system.
(Continues...)

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