Searching for the most effective homestays in Kanyakumari? Rajchandar Padmanaban and his spouse, Naga Jeyalakshmi, constructed Muthunandhini Palace as a heritage dwelling the place sustainability meets Tamil Nadu’s conventional structure.

Sitting amidst the attractive hills in Pothayadi village close to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, is a house that was as soon as a pair’s dream. An ideal mixture of Tamil, Venad, and Chettinad cultures and kinds, the place, known as Muthunandhini Palace, is the love youngster of Rajchandar Padmanaban (35) and his spouse, Naga Jeyalakshmi.

Full of historic artefacts and antiques from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Madurai, and Karaikudi, the house stands as a testomony to the wealthy cultures of the realm. The couple determined to share their treasure of a house with others by changing it right into a homestay.

“While you go to the homestay, you possibly can anticipate serenity, tradition, and heritage. The character surrounding us will fill you with a way of peace, and our genuine meals will nourish your soul,” says Rajchandar in a dialog with The Higher India.

The homestay isn’t just a marvel of tradition but additionally an excellent instance of sustainability. From composting their waste to implementing measures to recharge groundwater, the mud homestay is elevating the bar for nature-friendly journey.

Inspiration from grandmother’s dwelling

Born and raised in Kanyakumari, Rajchandar is a geo-data scientist who has spent the vast majority of his life round environmentalists.

“Spending a lot time round them, I wished to make my dwelling as aligned with nature as potential. I had at all times been involved in regards to the degradation of the environment and didn’t need to contribute to it,” he shares.

Rajchandar fondly recollects his grandmother’s dwelling, surrounded by greenery.

“Visits to her dwelling have been my favorite half. At the moment, I used to be unaware of how her deeply conventional and nature-friendly dwelling would someday develop into an inspiration for my dream dwelling too,” he says.

“Her dwelling was quite simple with minimal use of cement and really conventional in design,” he says. 

Whereas residing within the metropolis, he longed for a extra secluded place surrounded by nature.

“After I first noticed the village and the piece of land which now holds my dwelling, it was like love at first sight. I might envision the way forward for the place and therefore selected to purchase the land,” he says.

Rajchandar continues, “There’s a very attention-grabbing story that goes round in regards to the hills surrounding the realm. It’s mentioned that when Lord Hanuman lifted the Dronagiri Parvat to take it to Lord Lakshman, a bit of it broke off and fell right here. Therefore, these hills have plenty of medicinal vegetation rising round.”

The couple didn’t need to disturb the biodiversity of the realm and determined to construct a house that blends into nature as a substitute.

In 2021, they began to work on their dream dwelling and opened their doorways to the friends in 2022. “Since we determined to share our area with friends, we have now hosted greater than 200 friends thus far,” he informs. 

Made with some mud and many love!

The homestay is a mixture of completely different architectures, combining a mix of Tamil, Venad, and Chettinad kinds that showcase the wealthy cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu.

“I’m personally a collector and love accumulating artefacts from the realm. I had been accumulating plenty of artwork items and determined to show them within the dwelling. A few of these items are greater than 100 years outdated,” he says.

One factor that Rajchandar was clear about from the start is that he wished to make use of pure supplies to construct the house.

“We didn’t simply need to have sustainable practices. We wished to make the very roots of our dwelling eco-friendly. We used eco-bricks manufactured from limestone and pink clay for the partitions,” he says.

Itemizing all of the pure supplies that he used, Rajchandar says, “Moreover eco-bricks, we additionally used Athangudi Tiles. These tiles are made up of sand discovered close to Athangudi River which is way more sustainable than regular tiles.”

For the ceiling, the scientist used a way known as filler slab approach to minimise the usage of concrete. In response to Studio DCode, “Filler slab is an alternate slab building know-how the place a part of concrete within the backside of the slab is changed by filler materials.” The roofs even have clay tiles on the roofs too.

“We used pink soil, lime, cow dung, rice nightfall, egg and jaggery to make a paste for building,” he shares.

Moreover, the homestay options rainwater harvesting, and they’re within the technique of putting in photo voltaic panels to harness the solar.

“We additionally make compost out of our kitchen waste, which is then utilized in our backyard. We develop all our vegetation and meals organically so our friends can take pleasure in recent meals every day.”

The place boasts 5 bedrooms, 3 balconies, and three residing areas for friends to take pleasure in. “Whereas the homestay is shared by us with the friends, we additionally prioritise their privateness.”

Rajchandar highlights, “A novel function of the property is its pure coolness whatever the climate outdoors. With 50 upcycled home windows which might be over 100 years outdated, loads of air circulates inside. Moreover, because the home is manufactured from mud and clay, it stays naturally cool all year long.”

One frequent suggestions he receives from friends is how his dwelling looks like their very own.

One of many prospects, Gavin, who stayed on the property, says, “The place actually looks like dwelling. Dwelling at their place with all of the beautiful structure depicting our Tamil tradition was an expertise of a lifetime. It’s big in measurement with a number of areas to loosen up however the uniqueness was within the small particulars like the way in which they handled us. The meals, their accommodating behaviour made our keep very pleasant.”

Discussing future plans, Rajchandar says, “We actually need to develop the property as many individuals need to keep, however we are sometimes totally booked. We additionally goal to include extra sustainable measures like photo voltaic power into the present homestay.”

You’ll be able to e-book your keep at this Rajchandar’s homestay by reaching them at 9360946642 

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All Footage Credit score: Rajchandar)