KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 -- Karaikudi does not announce itself.

There is no dramatic skyline, no moment where the road crests a hill and reveals something spectacular. Tamil Nadu just rolls along quietly - and then, suddenly, a gate opens and you are staring at a palace.

Not a royal palace.

A banker's palace.

Columns of Burmese teak rise like the trunks of ancient trees. Belgian mirrors catch the light in cavernous halls. Murano chandeliers hang above courtyards paved with handmade Athangudi tiles, poured in nearby villages by craftsmen who still mix colour and cement the way their grandfathers did.

Some of these mansions are so vast their entrances and exits open onto different streets.

Welcome to Chettinad.

Getting here is easier t...