Legacy of Athangudi Tiles
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Transcript of Legacy of Athangudi Tiles
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6/16/2015 LegacyofAthanguditilesTheHindu
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Theyarearareblendoftheeastandthewestandhaveinterestingmodesofproductionthatspeakfortheirdurability,saysarchitectSATHYAPRAKASHVARANASHI
Durabilityhasalwaysbeenamongthemajorcriteriainthedesignandbuildworld.Whileitwasearlierregardedasahallmarkofquality,todayitisalsoamarkofsustainabledesign,forlongerthelifeoftheinitialinvestmentofefforts,energyandresources,themoreecofriendlyisthematerial.ThisisoneareawhereAthangudifloortilesscoreovertheothers.
Athangudisoundsmorelikeaplacenamethananoptionforfloortiles,buttodaytheproducthasmadeboththeplaceandtilesfamous.TheyaremademainlyinAthangudivillageoftheChettinaduregioninTamilNadu.Thetraditionalmodeof
productioncontinuestilldate,maintainingalegacyandgrandeur.Athanguditilesarebasicallycementtileslikemosaic,butunlikethemachinepressedandproducedmosaics,theyarehandmadeoverglasssurfaces.
Duringtheearlydaysoftheirproduction,theywerepatronisedmorebytherich,beingacostlieroptionandnewertechnologyinthosedays.However,theyalsodeserveanadditionalhonourforbeingapartoftheculturalheritageoftheChettiarcommunity.
TheaffluentChettiarcommunitybroughthomeideasandartefactsfromtheirtradetravels,resultinginEuropeanandAsianitemsfindingtheirwaytoChettinadu.UntilthenSouthIndianfloorswereclayorstonebasedandplaininfinish.Itcanbehypothecatedthatthepatternsofcarpets,easytohandle10x10sizesofEuropeantilesandglazedsurfacefinishesofChinesewaremighthaveinfluencedthelocalmasonstoproducetheAthanguditiles.Ifso,theyarealsoarareblendoftheeastandthewest.
ToappreciateAthanguditiles,itisimportanttounderstandtheirmodesofproductionaswell.
Themixofcementandcolouredoxideinaliquidslurrystateisindividuallypouredintopatternedmouldsuponaglasspiece.Athinlayeroflocalsandislaidthetileisthenfilledtothreefourthinchthicknesswithcement,sandandsmallstoneaggregatesorjellytogetthetile.
Itiscuredinwaterforaminimumof21daysandreadiedforlaying.Imagine,allthisisdonetoeverytileindividually,buildingupanamazinghandicraftindustry.Whiletheredcolourtileslooklikeredoxideflooring,variedgeometricalandfloralpatternsarealsoavailable.Thetraditionalpatternsarestillbeingcontinuedwith,henceAthanguditilesareamongthefewchoicesavailabletodaytocreateanethnicambience.However,unlikeredoxide,thesetilescomewithgreatersmoothnessandshine.Indesigns,finish,qualityanddurability,Athangudicancompetewithanyofmodernmanufacturedflooringmaterials,ofcoursewithitsownadvantagesanddisadvantages.Usedintherightplaceandcontext,Athanguditilesareamongthesustainablesolutionsaheadofus.
(Thewriterisanarchitectworkingforecofriendlydesignsandcanbecontactedatvaranashi@gmail.com)