Coimbatore’s Kuthirai Vandi Court, a good-looking constructing of the British-era that saved a vigil on horse cart house owners cranked to a halt within the Nineties. Over the years, this masonary construction constructed principally with lime mortar and brick, turned a rundown dusty labyrinth until it was taken up for renovation by the heritage division of the Public Works Department (PWD) a few years in the past. Resurrected from ruins, this constructing on two acres of land subsequent to the arterial Avinashi Road stands testimony to a time when horse carts served as final-mile connectivity for individuals from railway stations to cities.
While heritage buildings and monuments act as a hyperlink between the current and a bygone period, additionally they provide a peek into the historical past, commerce, and tradition that flourished within the area. Constructed in 1863 by the British to deal with courts, the constructing got here to be known as Kuthirai Vandi Court after drivers of horse-drawn carriages had been fined right here for visitors violations. “It’s the first court campus I entered wearing my advocate court,” reminisces artist V Jeevananthan. He studied regulation and practised for a few years earlier than turning into a full-time artist and later an award-profitable writer of books on cinema.
A Victorian fashion constructing with excessive pillars. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
“In the 1980s, this munsif court, a Victorian style building with high pillars, terraced roofs, wooden beams, and wooden ceiling, had a large floor with ample space housing over four criminal court sittings with judges. Offenders of petty cases would be remanded here. Other cases went to the Judicial Magistrate courts that operated at the Collectorate premises. Junior lawyers wearing gowns, sweating head to toe as we rushed from this court to attend calling work at the other court is a vivid memory,” says Jeevananthan recalling his childhood journeys to Marudhamalai on a jatka.
Coimbatore had visitors guidelines and legal guidelines in place concerning horse cart transportation. To start with, the riders wanted a horse cart license that needed to be renewed yearly. The house owners had been additionally anticipated to keep up the carts in good situation, with leaf springs, picket metal-rimmed wheels, locking-pin, flat-metal tyre, and most significantly a practical lantern and bell. When a horse cart man was caught violating visitors guidelines, he was punished with a positive which he needed to pay within the munsif court docket.
The court docket that saved a vigil on horse cart house owners. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
Historian Okay Varun says the constructing was practical until the late Nineties. “The ruin started from the 1970s when the roof started falling apart,” he says including that there have been about 2000 horse carts within the metropolis within the Nineteen Seventies. Jeeva additionally witnessed auctions on the court docket. “Goods seized by the court, and other court properties like cupboards, fans will be disposed off by auctions. Most buyers from the SMEs segment quoted cheap prices and delayed the process that left the judges fuming.”
Another noteworthy constructing that’s being restored by the PWD is the palatial two-storeyed Governor’s Bungalow on Trichy Road. “It belongs to the Sulur House family that owned 3500 plus acres of land in prime areas of Coimbatore,” says metropolis chronicler Rajesh Govindarajulu including that they migrated to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka within the 18th century. “They were generous landlords. They owned properties in Race Course, Avinashi Road and richy Road. In Race Course, their bungalow used to be called ‘elandha kottai bunglaow’ because the place was full of elandai pazham (Indian plum) trees. Cosmopolitan Club came up in the land that was purchased from them in 1891. Sulur Narasimha Iyer from the family was the first Diwan ahadur from the Coimbatore region. He donated his family lands generously for expansion works on Trichy Road,” says Rajesh.
The court docket was constructed in 1863. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
The Sulur Subba Rao bungalow on Trichy Road hosted authorities officers like Arthur Hope who served because the governor within the Nineteen Forties. “We cannot call them palaces, but polished residences for dignitaries. Governors usually arrived with their entourage of cooks, translators and secretaries. There were special cutlery for the VIPs. These buildings are slices of history.” Rajesh causes that restoring heritage properties make cultural and financial sense. “We can keep the place buzzing by adding a museum, cafeteria, themed restaurants, art and crafts corner that can serve as reminders of the rich past.”
Governor’s Bunglaow. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
Both buildings reminiscent of nineteenth century Victorian structure function thick partitions, arches, excessive ceilings, picket rafters, picket doorways and home windows that resemble venetion blinds. The previous buildings have been replicated utilizing the identical lime mortar materials and terrace roofing kinds, particularly the court docket. identified for its excessive pillars, elevation, and court docket chambers constructed with Madras terrace roofing
Governor’s Bunglaow that includes picket pillars. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
There are a plethora of buildings within the metropolis that requires consideration. Says Jeeva, “Nanjappa Rao Chakram building and Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank near St Michael’s Church in Town Hall are more than a century old and in ruins. Care should be taken to restore the buildings in their original form.”
Varun requires restoring heritage buildings scientifically retaining the previous world allure. He provides, “If not entirely, aspects like colours and paints have to be matched. The Police Museum is a case in point. Similarly, the Sullivan Bungalow in Ooty. This way, it always brings a rush of memories of a bygone era.”
Published – March 18, 2025 02:30 pm IST
