An edited version of this article was published in the February’15 issue of  Travel + Leisure India and Southasia magazine as Chettinad’s treasure chest   A beautiful Kolam (Rangoli) welcomed the visitors to one of the few surviving Nagarathar or Nattukottai Chettiar’s mansion. I stood outside its gates and was awed by the magnificent structure. The stucco work of Goddess Gajalakshmi in the façade symbolizing prosperity and the fortress like walls greeted me. I had arrived in the arid land of Chettinad, to explore its rich history of art…