Stone Carving - a fine art

Several temples of Tamilnadu have outstanding features because of which the state is often referred to as "the land of temples". Chidambaram has beautiful panels depicting the 108 karanas of the Natya Shaastra (the canon of dance), as performed by women. Its various sabhas or halls are intended to inspire awe. Kanchipuram is the city of temples, starting from the earliest Pallava times down to the Nayak Period and even later. If the Ekambareshwara temple is grand, the Varadaraaja temple has some noteworthy features, such as an exquisite monolithic stone chain. But the most famous of the temples is that of Meenakshi at Madurai, with its profusion of sculpture and magnificent proportions, the thousand-pillared mandapas and the pillars of stone, its towering gopurams and larger-than-life-sized reliefs. Madurai is the pinnacle of the stone sculptor's skill, if not his artistry. The skill continues elsewhere, as in the long corridor of the Rameshwaram temple, and it is a skill that continues till the present day.

Today, granite carving is confined to the area around Mamallapuram and Chingleput, probably because of the existence of the Mamallapuram School of Sculpture set up by the government. As in bronze, 20th century sculpture has not yet evolved an idiom of its own, and many of the carvings are copies of the earlier periods. However, a few sculptors have made a mark and their work adorns temples all over the world. The quality of the material is an extremely important part of the sculptural process. Just as the Shilpa Shaastras set out the measurements and techniques of sculpting, they have also gone into a great detail regarding the quality of stone, its maturity, texture, colour and so on.

The stability and durability of the final form depends a great deal on the homogeneity of the stone. For this reason the traditional artists work with the indigenous varieties available in the state, as it is extremely durable for construction purposes. The stones have to be selected carefully for their texture and for the lie of the stone (or the direction of the growth). This lie also defines the quarrying technique employed. Where stone for sculpture is concerned, dynamiting of rocks is not recommended since cracks would be formed. The stone is cut by moving a series of wedges about 5 to 7.5 cm deep. These wedges are driven carefully with heavy 4 kg hammers, resulting in the rocks breaking apart with clean edges. Till recently, even the quarry workmen belonged to the artists-craftsmen community and hence the art was a continuous process from material sizing to the finished pieces. 

Good stone should also have no flaws, namely kalanga or stain, rekha or patch, bindu or spot. The sculptural masterpieces created in Mamallapuram are not of the best variety of the stone. But, since the task was not to create images for worship but for aesthetic purposes, the secondary nature of the stone was considered acceptable. The themes for most of the sculptures have always been religious in nature. Much of the elaboration has a strong basis in the mythology and Puraanic tradition of India. There is an elaborate use of symbolism to convey the meaning of abstract intangible truths.

After the completion of a sculptural piece, a ceremony known as nayanon-milan is conducted, where in the image is invested with sight, life and breath, thus becoming a virtual living force. And only then is the image ceremoniously placed in the garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum.

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