For the last seven years, the Madras Crafts Foundation (MCF) has been house-hunting on a scale seldom matched by even the most frantic resident of Mumbai. But they have a serious edge over Mumbai-ites "" no landlord problems and no nasty neighbours.
But shifting house is another matter. First, researchers from the MCF travel through the villages of the southern states spending months studying local architecture, its history and usage before they target a house. Once they do, it has to be transported beam by beam to Mammallapuram, 21 kms from Chennai!
The destination, though, is one that any self-respecting house would appreciate "" Dakshinachitra, a 10-acre complex that weighs in somewhere between Disneyland and a sort of Little Deccan. As the name indicates, Dakshinachitra is a vision of the south. And given its size and scale, its a sweeping vision.
A one-stop encounter with South India,' proclaims a brochure. It offers no gimmicks, no water slides, no people dressed up as cartoon characters. Instead, it recreates the ambience of traditional South Indian villages in a setting rendered picture-postcard by the shimmering Bay of Bengal , and the swaying palms in the complex itself.
Architect Laurie Bakers design neatly divides the complex into four sections: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Right now, only the first two are complete and open to the public. Says S Dinakar, the crafts shop manager: Even now, researchers are touring villages in Udupi in Karnataka and Rayalseema in Andhra Pradesh looking for suitable homes.' And as the houses come trucking in, Laurie Baker, Benny Kuriakose and their team of architects will resume the resurrection business.
Naturally, the costs of this sort of project go far beyond the price of wood and bricks. But MCF has some powerful backers "" the Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation donated the land, and the Ford Foundation and the Development Commissioner, Handicrafts offered financial assistance. Almost all the citys corporate houses have contributed with a generosity that Disneyland might not have attracted. From EID Parry to Ashok Leyland, the Sterling Group, Sundaram Fasteners "" its a huge list.
Over Rs 70 lakh has poured in so far; after all, the organisations executive committee reads like a veritable Whos Who. Headed by Dr Deborah Thiagarajan, the American wife of the Bank of Madurai chairman, the board also has Gita Ram (the wife of Wheel India MD), Arun Bharatram, Indira Kothari and Rajshree Pathy. Dasrath Patel, Thota Tharani and Martand Singh act as design consultants .
But then, the MCF expects to see its money walking back through the gate, judging by the price of admission. At Rs 50 per head for Indians, and Rs 175 for foreigners, prices are a trifle steep when you consider that it costs only Rs 10 to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Qutb Minar.
A guided tour will set you back another Rs 500. There is a student concession, however, and school parties are pouring in. Foreigners also seem quite happy to dig into their pockets for the privilege.
I owed my guided tour to Dinakar, who emerged armed with a wide-brimmed straw hat from the curio shop. First off is the Tamil Nadu section. A majestic carved wooden doorway leads into a century-old merchant house from Chettinad. At the open verandah, on a raised seating area are the money chest and ledgers. So authentic that you can just picture a fat-bellied Chettiyar sitting cross-legged here, counting his paise. I was told that this was where the merchants dealt with the hoi-polloi, taking more favoured clients into the inner business room.
The house is dominated by the central courtyard, from which rooms spiral out.. and out.. and out. You soon lose count and are told that Chettinad houses accommodate up to four generations before new houses are built. Carved Burma teak columns support the sloped roof. Furniture is minimal, with only the odd almirah in sight. Strewn around are the various artifacts commonly found in a Chettinad household "" copper bartans, wooden combs, and those bronze nutcrackers that so often end up as bottle openers in the bars of the nouveau riche.
One hall houses an exhibition on the different features of Tamil culture "" its history, landscape, caste system etc. Preliminaries over, you can move on to Sattanur house, a typical agriculturists house from Mayavaram dating to 1847. Dwarfing all else are the mammoth urns in which paddy is stored, seemingly for the use of a perennially hungry family of vegetarian giants. Axes, ploughs and other farming equipment add to the rural character.
Down the street, you can see an agraharam (Brahmin quarters). On special days, such as when the citys school kids come visiting, the street buzzes with activity with bullock carts, folk dances, puppet shows and other trappings of rural kitsch. On these occasions artisans from nearby villages interact with the kids. Another hit with them is the catamaran ride. And for some hands-on education, children get to clamber up a huge ancient wooden chariot.
Intricate rangoli greets you at the doorstep of the weavers. A permanent textile exhibition here displays an array of ancient wedding sarees, Chettinad sarees, angavastrams, turbans and durries. A weaver demonstrates how the Kanjeevaram saree is crafted. The housekeeper here (every home has one) grins, Most foreigners are so taken in by the designs that they immediately commission the weaver to create one. Thus comes a tidy little business.'
Almost inevitably, visitors buy pottery from Ramavelu, the local clay meister. The cheerful potter from Pudukottai invites you to take a turn at his wheel and watches gleefully as you struggle with the mud, creating one disfigured lump after another.
The Kerala section is not as vast, with the project still incomplete. Only the shells of the houses "" a Syrian Christian, a princely Hindu, and a Nair house "" are in place. But soon, MCF hopes to convert these into a miniature slice of life from the past. But one or two features catch your interest "" like the divan which doubles up as a money chest in the Syrian Christian house. At the centre of all this period architecture is an open-air theatre, where MCF plans to organise traditional folk dances and theatre.
The fourth busload of schoolchildren draws up as we complete our tour. Explains V R Devika, one of the founders: The centre was conceived as an educational experience and we often organise pottery and crafts workshops.' Add-on programmes, such as classical dance shows and slide lectures on South Indian culture, are available for Rs 1,000-8,000. Theme dinners are another attraction, but have to be booked in advance. Choices vary from Chettinad cuisine, Karnataka specials to Malabar sea food.
MCF is pulling out all the stops to get Dakshinachitra on the tourist map.
Says Vishalam, coordinator, MCF: We hope to make the centre a regular stop on the tourist bus itinerary.' As we leave, a Gypsy draws up and several simply dressed men, many with stubble intact, spill out of their overloaded ark. They are apparently the headmen of the areas villages, and though this is their umpteenth visit here, they goggle at the sights like first-time tourists "" they are currently the Centres most frequent visitors.