Sunday, February 12, 2017
Granite Stone Carving - Mahabalipuram
Labels:
architecture,
Chennai,
figure carving,
Granite,
icon making,
Mahabalipuram,
sculpture,
Stone Carving,
temples
The most ancient and imposing surviving artifacts and monuments are made from stones. Stone carving has been an ancient craft in the Kanchipuram district due to the patronage of religious architecture and sculptures by the ruling dynasties South India. Black and Red Granite are locally available that are used in carving tombstones, letters and gravestones, idols of deities and grinding stones. The skills of carving idols are unique in Tamil Nadu as the carving tradition is still true to translating the sacred scriptures. The beautiful temples that dot the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu have lent the state the sobriquet of “land of temples”. 
Granite is an igneous and signature rock and its occurrence is very wide. No other planet other than Earth has this rock type. These stones are tough, hard and second most durable among all the stones and many people use it in construction and making things. They can withstand high temperature and pressure too. Two granite stones are never identical.The granite carving in Tamil Nadu is confined to the area around Mamallapuram (also Mahabalipuram) and Chingleput. The monuments at Mamallapuram comprises of three kinds of Rock Cut Techniques.This may be attributed to the fact that the government has set up the Mamallapuram School of Sculpture here.
The art of sculpting runs in the blood of the locals in Mamallapuram. Even today the stone carvers of Tamil Nadu begin with a prayer that first begs forgiveness from Mother Earth for cutting the stone.The stone cutter starts by locating a good stone quarry. Metal pegs are hammered in a straight line into the rock at intervals. Water is poured onto the rock to wet it. The roughly shaped blocks are then transported to the workshop for more careful shaping.The quality of the stone is checked. The way in which the rock is formed dictates its hardness and textures. The easiest to carve are metamorphic rocks that have been changed by compression, heat or chemical action over millennia. This includes soapstones and marble.
They spend so many days to make a masterpiece which is incredible. The patience that they have and the hard work they do is speechless. It's really not an easy job to do. The craft is in right hands because they do justice to it.The maintained the authenticity of the craft and dedicated their lives to it. The finished sculpture looks so beautiful and the person who sees, they can feel the hard work and dedication behind it.
The people of Mahabalipuram don't perform this craft just to earn money. They do it because they respect it and it is there on their blood. There are many shops that manufacture these sculptures and export to different foreign countries also. So if you are looking for such beautiful sculptures and want to explore this craft, you are at right place. Mr. K. Shanmugam Sthapathy is one the best manufactures who is practicing this craft since 45 years in Mahabalipuram and exports sculptures to Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Dubai and many other places. They provide a variety of designs according to the need of the customers and makes sure that the sculpture is made up of the best quality of the stone. Their store and workshop are government approved as it is continuously working on this craft for many years.
Contact
K. Shanmugam Sthapathy
Address: ECR.Kovalam road, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu 603104.
9789048383, 9445735051
Working Hours: 6:00 am To 9:00 pm
Documented by Sanskriti Agarwal
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