dakshin chitra

It was a tuesday during december holiday season. I had lined up to go on a trip to dakshin chitra. Then i was cautioned that tuesday could be a holiday. It is the umpteenth time that tuesdays are non starters in chennai. A simple haircut/hairstyling; not possible on tuesdays.Hdfc bank branch is closed weekly on tuesdays can you beat that. Whoever named in mangala vaaram was not communicating the sentiment to chennaites.

It was a caution correctly timed. Hence ended up calling dakshin chitra chennai office and was told that the place is worth 3/4 hours of pleasant times and there is a full fledged restaurant by arusuvai natarajan on the premises. Now with lunch being taken of, i planned to leave in good time the next day.

It is just half an hour drive from adyar and we were in a sprawling campus teeming with arts and crafts. I had been there with some office guests quite a few years back, but then it is different when you are with family. My niece A made a good companion and we both trotted off to andhra pradesh houses. The first one had a good verandah where she could sit and paint small pots.There was a lady keeping the house and helping the kids getting their fingers greased! In one corner there was a loom and another lady was getting ready to continue a cotton skirt with zari border that she was weaving.Got to see a loom at close quarters. It is a very complicated start up process. I was told many typical houses in andhra have looms in their court yard and the family members make up the entire labour force. I have seen them in kancheepuram right on the lanes and bylanes the vibrant colours making you take another glance as you drive past.

In one room handmade wooden and paper mache toys were kept just like a navratiri kolu arrangement and the inveterate kolu addict that i am, I stood rooted and enjoyed the wonderfully crafted toys.

We next went to a typical house in coastal andhra pradesh. It was very interesting in its design. It was circular with the innermost part housing huge storage bins for grains. This is to protect the grains from storms/flodding that this area is so prone, I was told. There is a second concentric circular design which has the living quarters.The roof is flat at the middle and slanting at the sides to drain off the rain water. We also found another smaller circular structure and we were told that it again is a cooking place, a case of redundancy built in especially in such cyclone/flood prone areas!I was fascinated at the native wisdom and the story behind each of these structures.

Others in our group made a detour of other houses on exhibit in typical tamil nadu, karnataka and kerala styles. Each house also had typical handicrafts of those areas practised by artisans and some of it was available for the guests to try their hand in. We tried the pottery as i have wished to get my hands gooey gooey at the potter's wheel. It is sheer magic to see a wet clay shape itself right in front of our eyes into a cute pot. My niece was much better at it what with her tiny steady fingers. I was told to do exactly as she is doing and not allow my thumb inside the pot to stray!

We landed in a huge hut in which one could try ones hand in several activities like paper mache doll making, shell doll making, palmyra leaf painting and such stuff. Kept A engaged for quite a while. We were treated to 'mayilattam' on the side.

There were numerous stalls selling handicraft items including lac bangles. The artist was making them as to order and it was a huge hit with my niece.She chose some colours and watched intently as it was taking shape right in front of her eyes. She had a trophy to take back!

Lunch was quite a good affair with 'hat dosa' (for the uninitiated(that is me!) it was ghee roast twirled and served like a hat) and other dosa and rice varieties.

I plan to come here again.That is the promise i usually make whenever i visit any place that interests me. I want to study the native architecture and also try my hand at every activity and not miss out on any single aspect of showcasing our native arts and crafts.

Till next time