On Nattukottai Chettiars...

Fortune Seekers: A Business History of the Nattukottai Chettiars
Author: Raman Mahadevan(2025)

The Chettys are believed to have been present in the Malay Peninsula as early as the 16th century in the history of the Malacca Empire, according to Portuguese writings, when they arrived on Malacca's shores. The community, known as Chetty or Chitty in Malacca, had its own distinctive way of life, integrating with the local population, establishing places of worship, and holding significant positions in the Sultanate. They are said to originate from the Coromandel (Eastern) Coast of India. Interestingly, their settlement is called 'Gajah Berang' — 'Angry Elephant' in Malay. This might also be a corruption of Kanchipuram's old name, Karca Pidam. Therefore, the Chittys could have originated from Kanchipuram rather than Nattukottai.

In many P Ramlee films, the character of a Chetty frequently appears as the stereotypical moneylender.

It has been said that much of the State lands belonging to the Sultans changed hands to the Chettys in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One particular monarch, who was addicted to booze and gambling and a bad gambler too, lost much of his property by signing it away to obtain loans from Chettys to feed his gambling addiction. Usually, the loans were not repaid, leading to the lands being seized and taken over by the Chettys. Concerned local chiefs approached the British administrators, who proposed the Malay Reserve Land Code to preserve State lands for the Malays, that is, within the control of the Sultans, the protectors of Malay sovereignty.

Many groups within the Indian population are naturally entrepreneurial. These include the Mawaris, Khataris, Multani, Parsi, Baniar, Sindhi, Chetti, and many others. They possess sharp business skills and have an exceptional ability to foresee and grasp future economic trends.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/11/13/
ethnic-chetty-residents-want-more-effort-to-preserve-village

In my hometown, Penang, the Nattukottai Chettiars are renowned for organising the now world-famous annual three-day Thaipusam celebrations with chariot processions and hundreds of kavadi-bearing devotees. To support these events, they have built a large temple complex along Waterfall Road and a silver chariot to oversee the entire celebration. Historically, the Chettiars owned extensive land in Malaysia for much of the first half of the 20th century. However, following the unrest associated with communists (between 1948 and 1960) and the race riots in 1969 in the newly independent Malaya, the Chettiars chose to liquidate their assets and return lock, stock and barrel back to India.

The history of the Nattukottai Chettiars dates back to 2893 BC. By the late 19th century, they had established themselves around the princely State of Puthukottai in South India. They were also known as Nagarathars. The area they inhabited was not suitable for farming, so they evolved into a mercantile community and small local traders. The rule of the British Raj in India made doing business more difficult, leading the Chettiars to explore overseas opportunities for expanding their money-lending enterprise. 

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 radically changed global commerce. The plantation economy began to develop in colonies such as Ceylon, Burma, Indochina, and Malaya. The demand for credit surged, and the Chettiars stepped in to meet the need by lending to local planters in these regions. 

70% of all loans in Burma in 1930 were from Chettiars.
https://www.yangontimemachine.com/en/index?id=24&art=chettiar_temple

In Burma and Indochina, rice plantations expanded to meet global demand. Crops such as coffee, tea, and coconut were cultivated on a large scale in Ceylon. Rubber estates flourished in Malaya. Tin mining commenced in Malaya in the early 20th century. Chettiars prospered by doing what they did best—being moneylenders. Their primary activity was an intra-community banking system based on trust and risk-taking. Within the community, they established a support network to ensure that each member received assistance and that disputes between members were resolved internally, without resorting to legal action. Their intra-community bond was powerful. Sadly, the Nagarathars were not particularly friendly with the locals. It was all business. This proved to be an albatross around their neck when the Saya San rebellion broke out in Burma. 

The business was a roaring success for them until 1928, when the world faced the Great Depression. Some had cut their losses and returned home, while others bought large parcels of land when borrowers were unable to repay their loans. The Chettiars became major landowners.

Their businesses faced further difficulties when World War II broke out. The depreciation of local currencies and the switch to Japanese Banana money in Burma and Malaya resulted in overwhelming losses. In Burma, resistance manifested as regional nationalism, such as the Saya San Rebellion, and many of their properties were nationalised. Thousands of Chettiars had to flee on foot as refugees back to India.

Some Chettiars repatriated their capital to India. Many shifted to managing cotton mills, modern industries, education, and banking. A small number of them never recovered from their losses. Over-commitment to money lending and an unwillingness to diversify led to the collapse of their traditional business model.

By 1938, ~25% of Burma's rice-growing areas were in Chettiar hands.
https://www.yangontimemachine.com/en/index?id=24&art=chettiar_temple

Their apparent presence in the modern world, from 1870 onwards, throughout post-independent India, has left an indelible mark. A few figures have secured their place in Indian history.

There was Sir Annamalai Chettiar, an industrialist, banker, philanthropist, and educationist. He is immortalised in the university bearing his name. Another legendary Nattukottai Chettiar is Dr Alagappa Chettiar, one of the first in the community to study English and decide to read Law at the University of London. During his stint in the UK, he worked part-time in the banking sector and acquired a flying licence. Despite completing his course, he was refused permission to practise Law in the UK because he had contracted leprosy, which had slightly disfigured his face. He returned home to found Alagappa University and fund hospitals. Later, he founded Jupiter Airways, which played a crucial role in bringing refugees to India during the Partition. He was the youngest Indian to be knighted in 1946, but he voluntarily renounced the title after India's independence. Alagappa Chettiar's business portfolio included the acquisition of Ayer Manis Rubber Estate in Muar, Johor, in Malaya during the 1920s.

Then there was MCT Chidambaram Chettiar, the founder of Indian Overseas Bank. One of the survivors of the Burma ordeal is the group of AMM Murugappa Chettiar. He relocated to India and ventured into manufacturing cycles, steel tubes, ceramics, sugar, fertilisers, financial services, and more. The Murugappa Group has become a powerhouse of the Indian industry.

Karumuthu Thiagaraja Chettiar was another textile magnate, philanthropist, and supporter of the arts and Tamil language. He was a freedom fighter and a member of the Indian National Congress. This should not be confused with Sir Pitty Theagaraya Chettiar, another notable industrialist and a founding member of the Justice Party. The affluent neighbourhood of T. Nagar in Chennai is named after him. Pitty did not belong to the Nattukottai Chettiar community but to the Telugu-speaking Devanga Chetty community.

AV Meiyappa Chettiar is known for his AVM Studio, AVM Production House and his role as a doyen in Tamil cinema during its golden age.

In Malaysia, the average person might not fully appreciate the business savvy and close-knit qualities of the Nattukottai Chettiars. They might only learn about their black umbrellas, the ash spread on their foreheads, and their money-lending trades after watching several P Ramlee movies. One thing they would not overlook is the Chettinad eateries and their delicious cuisine, which can be found all over town.

(N.B. Over the last decade, a conspiracy has emerged regarding the Nattukottai Chettiar-managed silver chariot used during Penang's Thaipusam procession. It was alleged that the monies offered by the public do not go towards the uplift of Hindus or the maintenance of Hindu temples in Penang. The Chettiars were accused of siphoning off the collection to Chettinadu in Tamil Nadu. The Penang Hindu Endowment Board, in retaliation, introduced a golden chariot in direct competition with its silver counterpart.)

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Another piece of Malayan history

Carey Island - Historical Island (Tamil; 2022)
வரலாற்று சிறப்பு மிக்க கெரித்தீவு

Author: M Govindasamy

In 1988, when I was a doe-eyed newbie starting work in Klang, I was assigned to many in-patients who hailed from a peculiar place called Carey Island. I swear I knew the small islands around Malaysia, but I had never encountered any Carey Island. In Penang, where I grew up, my contemporaries and I tried to excite ourselves by quizzing each other and trying to locate islands on the atlas. Our interests were piqued by the people manning the now-defunct ferry services between Penang Island and Butterworth. The ferries were named after islands around Malaysia - Langkawi, Tioman, Pangkor, Redang, etcetera. The name that excited us most was Pulau Babi Besar. Sadly, Pulau Babi Besar is now renamed Pulau Indah, as the previous name hurt the sentiments of small hogs and those who perceived the animal as unclean.

Carey Island is no island at all. It is part of the state of Selangor, which is dissected by a river on one side and maybe an irrigation canal on the other side to make it an island of sorts. 

I remember many patients who were brought in from Carey Island were plantation workers with a multitude of social problems, including domestic issues and suicide attempts. 

The history of Carey Island is strongly interlinked with the history of British rule in Malaya. Even before the British exploited the group of land over the western part of Selangor, the island was already occupied by indigenous people and a smattering of Malays, Chinese and Indians even before the land was 'developed' by the colonial masters. 

Carey Island is technically not an island.

The Carey family was related to one of King Henry XIII's wives. Edward Valentine Carey's family acquired a massive piece of land in Ceylon to develop a thriving coffee plantation named Amherst. Through appeasement deals with the British, Edward Carey was gifted with a parcel of land in Gombak and, later, in 1899, a piece of land on the western coast of Selangor. The Gombak plantation land was christened New Amherst Estate Gombak.

Carey Island, a piece of land that came to be called later, was exploited to cultivate coffee, coconut and rubber. Together with the development of this land came labourers from South India and other immigrants to complement the bustling economy.

This book is a trip down memory lane of some of the landmarks on the island via photographs to remind the readers of how this island contributed to the national economy and became part of the narrative of the three generations of settlers who call this place home.

 

A few exciting snippets here. Unlike the common perceptions that crows, who are currently the unceremonious natives of Klang, came as stowaways on a merchant ship, they were actually actively sourced from Ceylon. Crows were brought in to gobble up worms that were a menace to their plantation.

Malaria was a severe problem for the occupants of Carey Island. Many died due to the disease. Only after Ronald Ross discovered the cause and ways to keep this menace under control did the State Health director institute measures to rein the ailment under control. The director went on to be knighted later on.

There used to be an active ferry service until a modern bridge was built to make the service redundant by the 1980s.

https://careyisland.info/

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Mission accomplished!

Mr Dalip Singh Kokra
(1922-2020)

Yet another story of an immigrant who started with nothing and went on to create a legacy of sorts for himself and his offsprings. I had the pleasure of knowing Uncle Dalip Singh when I entered my wife's family more than thirty years ago and had taken part in many happy and sad events as they came and went.

Over the years, I made a composite picture of his life and times starting as a night school guard and gradually rising to be the President of the local temple.

As a young man, with scant of education, he arrived in Malaya with hope in his chest, strength in his limbs and resolve on his mind. As a night guard, he had built quite a reputation as a goto man for petty cash. Towards the latter part of the month, it was a common sight to see peons, clerks and even teachers forming a beeline outside his quarters requesting friendly loans (at 'reasonable' interest, of course). He was a leading a thrifty life, appreciating the simpler things of life to raise his five children. Not happy with just wasting his day time idly, he decided to become a travelling salesman. With his faithful wife as an aide, he drove to small rubber estates and oil palm plantations to sell sarees and Indian clothes on credit. With the little remunerations that he obtained from these, he uplifted the standard of living of his family. After he retired from Government employment, he moved into a large landed property in the more affluent side of town. With his tenacity, he educated his children and became a respected figure in society. 

He is a living proof to the adage 'hard work never kills anyone'. Until about six years ago, at a ripe age of 92 years, he was still seen driving around the housing estate. After spending quality time during his 98th birthday with his loved ones, he decided to call it quits. He became progressively weak, bade his farewell and passed the baton to the generation next to bring it to the finish line.

Some would simply throw in the towel at first sight of an obstacle. They would blame everyone else except themselves for their predicament. Others would approach these hurdles somewhat differently. When the barricade is too high, they will go under it.  If it is thick, they will go around it. Wailing and garnering sympathy is not going to take us anywhere. That, maybe the life lesson I learnt from Sadarji.

Parnam, till we meet on the Otherside if we do!

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The story of the fallen

The Forgotten Army, Azaadi Ki Liye
(For Freedom, Hindi; 2020)
Amazon Prime.

26,000 Indians had died under the banner of Indian National Army (INA) while fighting for Independence of India. Their actions triggered the Royal Indian Navy mutiny, which nailed the coffin of the British occupancy in India. The plea for Independence and the spirit of Indianness were supported by the diaspora outside India just to be sizzled out by the historical turn of events. They say that history is written by the victors. This is one clear proof of this statement. History had vilified the efforts of INA and had labelled them as traitors. Their agitations had been marked, not as nationalism but as treason.

Flag of Azad Hind

Their rebel yell, Dilli Chalo (Let's go Delhi), was not in keeping with the narrative of the day then, as dictated by the Father of India and supported by the Congress Party. These people wanted India to be a British dominion to be given crumbs by their colonial masters. As such, Gandhi et al. decreed that Indian should be fighting for the cause of the Allied Forces to stay loyal to their master's path.

Subash Chandra Bose wanted full Independence from the British, not being a protectorate of Britain. He definitely did not believe that Gandhi's non-violent path would lead to self-rule. He managed to garner support from all the enemies of the British and the Allied Forces. At a time when India, being the subject of the British, was expected to fight for against the Axis Alliance, Bose lobbied for an Army to march with the Japanese against British in their Burmese campaigns. Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) was his brainchild, armed by the Japanese Imperial Army and financed by contributions expatriate Indian civilian volunteers of Malaya and Singapore. Hence, he was labelled as a traitor and enemy of the state.

      Even though the operatives eventually turned out to be a dangerous one and had to be abandoned due to logistics as the Japanese found the whole exercise an uphill task, the INA did leave its mark. They stirred Indian nationalism. They were instrumental in initiating the Royal Indian Navy mutiny which expedited the British exit from the subcontinent. They were also the first Army (after Russia) to recruit a whole regiment comprising women -The Jhansi Regiment. For that time, the act of Indian women donning pants itself was revolutionary.

History never really gave the INA its befitting place. They were never given credence as free fighters, only tried as traitors.  The 13,000 odd INA soldiers who were apprehended were never given due recognition for their sacrifices and never remunerations reserved for freedom fighters. Their activities actually roused the nation and stirred political consciousness in British colonies. Their soldiers later initiated left-wing and union movements in Malaya, Singapore and even Indonesia. They began to think of Independence. In Malaya, after Merdeka, their members continued carrying education reforms and women empowerment movements at the local and national levels.

This 5-part miniseries brings its viewers through a nostalgic journey into the past. Using the spruced-up colonial buildings of Singapore, the rubber estates in Malaysia and the jungles of Thailand as backdrops, the director managed to narrate the genesis of INA. Starting with prisoners-of-war of Indian descent serving the British Indian Army, the Japanese riled up patriotism to recruit more volunteers to serve at the Burmese-Indian border in their encounter with the British.

Using characters with names of known figures who had participated in the mission, the storyteller managed to create a love drama of soldiers as they scaled the treacherous terrains of the Arakan and the perilous battles in Manipur. 

Janaki is the story refers to Janaki Athi Nahappan who went on to establish Malayan Indian Congress with John Thivy. She continued her social work until her demise in 2014. 

Rasammah Naomi Navarednam

Rasamma here refers to Mrs FR Bhuphalan, a Malaysian educationist and social activist, the 95-years lady of steel who appears in the media annually during the Merdeka month. The character Lakshmi denotes Dr Lakshmi Swaminathan @ Lakshmi Sahgal @ Captain Lakshmi, who gave up her medical practice in Singapore to join INA in the Azadi movement. She later became a Minister in the defunct Azad Hind Government. After the war, she settled in Kanpur, continued her medical practice, entered politics under the Communist Party banners and passed away at the ripe age of 97 in 2012.

A lovely miniseries that educates the ignoramus on the side of history as narrated by the fallen. Excellent cinematography and prudent use of computer graphic imaging (CGI) to recreate the feel of a real war and fairly credible combat scenes. We are relieved of the typical gravity-defying acrobatic battle encounters typified by Bollywood. Worth the watch.

The plaque erected by the
National Heritage Board at Esplanade Park,
marking the INA Monument site in Singapore.

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All kinds of everything reminds us of our past!

If a genie would suddenly pop up in front of me today and want to grant me three wishes and asked me what would it be, I would probably ask for an alternative life where I have the luxury of travelling to small towns. That decision would be made, of course, after considering the merits of knowing whatever happened to Flight #MH370.

In my alternative life, I would take a long slow leisurely ride (or drive) along the coastal and interior roads of Peninsular Malaysia. Since time is expandable, I would stop at every small town that I would come across, spend a few days there, mingle with the local populace to learn about the little things that unique is about them and write all about it. Just for the kick of it. Indeed there are many unexplored gems around. Now did you know that there is a Customs Museum in Jelebu District in the State of Negeri Sembilan? Customs not as Customs and Excise but traditional customs.

Talking about Jelebu, during one of our long rides to Kuala Klawang in Jelebu, our team happened to meet an unassuming gentleman who turned out to be a team member's friend's father. After the customary greetings and small talks, he insisted on showing us a 'museum'. Not fully understanding what he was saying but at the same time not wanting to offend, we just followed him. 

The mentioned museum was actually his personal collections of memorabilia of the generation of Indian immigrants used in early Malaya, at a time when she was a land of natives waiting to be cultured. His family has been here for over five generations. That is much more than many of bigoted national leaders who label non-Malays as newcomers.

Our gentleman proudly has rubber-sheet pressing machines, ancient weighing scales, kitchen utensils, the legendary woven 'Sikh' bed and many more day to day items. 

The family tree

Above all the guidance of the Divine Forces

Protection

Not Grimm Reaper's weapon of choice, Scythe

How the two-wheeler had evolved?

That is his little way of reminding the generation after him how the country benefited from everyone who dared to sail the rough seas and decide to settle in this wild country. Their taming of the land was no walk in the park but involved sweat, tears, dysentery and malaria. The concerted effort by all our forefathers, irrespective of their race, creed and religious convictions brought the name Malaysia to be known at the international arena for all the right reasons. Let us not destroy all that and propel us back to a time when only savages dwelled here.

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Timeline of the Malay Peninsula

The timeline of the known history of the Malay Peninsula (40.000 BCE - 2018 CE). From the arrival of the first modern humans, the spread of cultures, the emergence of Hindu-Buddhist city-states, the era of Srivijaya Empire, rise of Islamic sultanates, European colonialism, up until modern-day states in 2018.

(Reference: Lazardi Wong Jogja youtube)

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The past will present the future!

Malay Magic

Walter William Skeat (1900)

There was a time many years ago when the Malaysian National Museum in Kuala Lumpur decided to go all out to make their exhibits draw more viewers. They curated an exhibition themed along the lines of 'Magic in Malay Land'. Just a few days into its starting, it had to be discontinued. The powers that be were not too comfortable as the reception was too overwhelming. Before this exhibition, the National Museum building was like Siberia; everybody knew where it was, but nobody wanted to go there. Rows and rows of hired outstations express buses were seen parking around the vicinity of the museum on a daily basis. The religious bodies did not realise that the interest amongst our community in knowing our ancient animistic past believes ran that deep. 

So, as what a true-blue beholden of belief would do, to avoid confusions among its confessors, the religious authorities decided that the best thing to do would be to cancel the whole show. Never once after that was such a display ever held. The leaders thought that ignorance is bliss, curiosity would make believers dabble in the supernatural and occult practices and that they would probably doubt the teachings of the Book.

Maybe, as a knee-jerk reaction, the religious bodies decided to tighten the screws on what can be exhibited to the impressionable public. The broadcasting companies and moviemakers were reminded that subjects delving on the supernatural or religions were out of bounds.

It is remarkable that a Western anthropologist of the 19th century would go through such lengths as to produce a 700-page treatise on the cultural practices of the natives if the Malayan peninsula. Even though the writer admits that his records are no means exhaustive of all the traditions of the natives, the book is definitely encyclopedic in nature, detailing into most of the day-to-day concerns of an average agrarian Malay of the late 19th century. He managed to venture into their psyche, spirituality and esoteric practices. 

There are many ancient practices in the Malay world that a modern Malay person would like to forget. Many of the rituals outlined in this book may be considered as un-Islamic, polytheistic in nature.

                       Some gadgets used to determine auspicious times. After the spread of Islam

                       to the region, these practices became unnecessary. Every day is good as 

                       decided by the Almighty. Traditionally, the first Wednesday on the Islamic 

                       month of Safar was deemed as the day of mishaps. To cleanse and to protect

                       one from misfortune, people believed that they had to immerse themselves 

                       in seawater. People congregated around the beaches around Malaya for this 

                       occasion. As the fiesta-like atmosphere reached fever pitch, the religious 

                       authorities put a stop to it, deeming it un-Islamic. This practice called 

                      'Mandi Safar' only remains in the annal of Malayan history.

The population of the peninsula mostly depend on the goodwill of Nature for their survival. Living in the vicinity of ferocious beasts, they develop a system to appease the spirit of the jungle and its occupants. They believe every being has a soul that needs to be respected. Sometimes the spirit of the tiger is also invoked to combat human malady like illness.

The Malays have their interpretations of the origin of animals in the jungle. Many of them seem like a mumbo-jumbo of folklores and pseudo-sacred tales with a twist of Islamic flavour sprinkled upon it. Many jungle produce like fruits, incense, camphor and medicinal leaves are used in ceremonies before any life-changing task is commenced. Many practices also tell of the role that Hinduism played in the civilisation of the region.

Pawangs are shamans who are gifted with extraordinary powers to communicate with and ward off evil spirits. Their services are indispensable in treating the sick and initiating rituals.

One important tradition that stays on till today in the remote areas of the padi planting areas of Malaysia is the worship of the rice spirit. The rice spirit has to be feted to assure good yield, protection from pests, and to ensure favourable weather for planting and harvesting.

Superstitious customs go beyond the spectrum of forests and its dwellers - tiger, crocodiles, snakes, owl. The natives have various fascinating stories about ghosts. Ghosts play essential roles in their lives. A well-known spirit, known as pontianak, involves a mother who died in childbirth. There are great taboos related to pregnancy, birth and puerperium because of this.

Even though Mohamedan men are discouraged to don ornamental appendages, many Malay men traditionally wear rings. The rings usually carry a stone. Most of these stones are not precious ones but are bezoar stones, polished undigested droppings of monkeys, porcupines or other animals. They are said to bring aphrodisiac or medicinal properties.  Amulet and talisman are frequently deployed as love charms or to ensure conjugal fidelity. They have their own non-scientific ways to prove the authenticity of the stones.

The author goes on to discuss the various dances performed in leisure hours. The natives spend many hours in multiple games. Cockfighting is particularly favoured. He goes on to tell about its intricacies, preparations and the madness that surround the pastime. Dice games, cards, top spinning, kite flying, checker and sepak raga are played too. Children create their own games with sticks, sand and stones. Like children elsewhere, they play hide-and-seek also.

Theatrical performances with dancers or puppets (shadow play) are reserved for the noblemen. Here again, rituals take centre stage before any performance. Many of the input into this book also comes from Frank Swettenham and Hugh Clifford. The exciting thing about the writing is that the author is respectful of the natives' beliefs. He does not look at their ritual with his condescending judgmental eyes, like a real anthropologist. 

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