1947

A Note From the Family

The story of our Bungalow starts many decades ago in post-independent India. It was 1947 when the property came into our family when a Scotsman by the name of Lord Chamberlain sold The Dunnottar to our grandfather, Puliyadi Kuppuswami Iyer, a businessman and philanthropist from Madurai.

As the story goes, he and his wife left for the United Kingdom with just two suitcases, leaving behind all their belongings and furniture in their Kodaikanal home. While much has changed to the interior of the bungalow, there are still many artefacts that remain from the Chamberlain era, which can be found dispersed around the house.

From 1947 onwards, ‘The Dunnottar’ has served as the main holiday home in the hills for us. Every year, we would descend upon the lakeside property and spend weeks enjoying the cool summer breeze, long walks, and elaborate family picnics, which often extended outside Dunnottar and into the lake where the kids would have their row boats parked.

For an hour everyday though, we would find ourselves seeking shelter inside the house. The afternoon showers forced us to find other ways to entertain ourselves - the elderly turning to cards, while the kids played board games. There were still those of us, old and young, who preferred staring out the window listening to the sound of the rain pouring down on the galvanized iron sheet rooftops. Just as fast as the skies greyed, they would turn blue again.

Times were simpler then, but what remains true till today is what the home stood for. It was a place where the family could escape the stress of everyday urban life, a place where we could recharge, but most importantly a place where we could reconnect with family and friends.

Many special memories have been made here and we hope that by opening our doors to you, you will continue this tradition by creating memories of your own at Dunnottar.

—

The Puliyadi Family