[2] The lands formed a part of the 1803 Permanent Settlement in Madras Presidency and became recognised by the British East India Company (EIC) as a zamindari estate, with its palace at Veerakeralampudur.

[6] The little kings were now expected to be landlords who managed local agriculture and paid an annual tribute, although even the British authorities had doubts about their transplanting of the settled property concept from its origins in Bengal Presidency to that of Madras.

[5] Despite its zamindari status, in the first half of the century the British East India Company often imposed direct rule, overarching the position of the zamindar.

The family gained a period of relatively independent governance during the regency of Peryanayaki Nachiar, who acted on behalf of her underage son, Irudalaya Marudappa Taver, after the death of his father in 1850.

[b] Irudalaya was succeeded as zamindar upon his death in 1891 by an adopted son, Navanithakrishna Marudappa Taver, but the Court of Wards stepped in to govern on his behalf because he, too, was a minor.

The court concentrated on the divorce and ritual arguments and ruled in favour of Menakshi, a decision that was upheld by the Privy Council on appeal.