What does the Pantone Institute’s pick as the colour of the year for 2023 have to do with namma Chennai? Quite a bit, it turns out. The defining global authority for all things colour-related chose Viva Magenta (Pantone 18-1750) as its shade for the upcoming year, saying it “acknowledges our gravitational pull towards natural colours as movements swell around climate change, sustainability, and land protection.” Viva Magenta is described by Pantone as a “nuanced crimson red tone” that has its origins in the cochineal beetle, a tiny cactus-eating insect that was once found only in Mexico and ..read more

Direct printing of botanical elements has become one of the most popular artworks in the world among textile artists. The basic process uses leaves to imprint on cloth using three components – Pressure, moisture and heat. Eco-printing is a technique where plants, leaves and flowers leave their shapes, colour, and marks on fabric.  The plant material is arranged and bundled inside of the cloth, then steamed or boiled to release the dye found naturally inside the plant, creating a contact print in the shape of the leaf or flower used.  These contact prints are referred to as “eco-print ..read more

Tiruppudaimarudur, in Ambasamudram Taluk of Tirunelveli has a temple for Shiva, worshipped as Narambunathar. The original structure goes back to 8-9th Cent. AD of early Pandyas, later expanded by Imperial Cholas and later Pandyas. The nearby town of Cheran Mahadevi, appears to have been the second capital of the Travancore (Venad) kings during the period of Chera Udaya Marthanda Varma. Tiruppadimarudur was an important military outpost and a lot of sculptures, prakara mandapas were done by them. The huge five-tier raja gopuram, called Chitra gopura houses the finest of mural paintings and exqu ..read more

Tamil literature is a wonderful source to understand the various words used to denote cloth. From the Sangam age to the 12th Century, it is a treasure house of information. Sanga thamizh mentions Aadai, udai, thazhai, thugil, kalingam, aruvai, udukai, kachu, eerani, porvai, kazhagam, kacham, madi, seerai, padam, poongarai neelam. The Neethi-nool kalam mentions even more types like – Aratham (red colour cloth) kodi, koorai, pudavai, masani, pattam etc., Koorai is a word that denotes the type of cloth, probably from the term Koorai – paduthuthal (கூறை படுத்ததல்). The bride during her mangalya d ..read more

The third and last post in this thread is about their unique jewellery, the Kandangi selai and their amazing cuisine! First about the yummy menu served on that day – Have you ever tasted Tomato Kuzhi paniyaram? Which just melts in your mouth? And the famous dessert “Kavuni Arisi” – a delicious dessert made out of the Vietnam/Burma Black sticky rice, sugar and coconut? And another lesser-known dessert which glides into your stomach – the “Aadi Kummayam” the soft fluffy sweet made out of Urad dal, rice and ghee which takes the main place in all important functions! Variety is key in every Chett ..read more

“Chettinadu splendour” – what started as just a textile activity session with Meyammai Aachi in 2016, triggered varied interests and been an eye-opener for me. This blog post captures the key points discussed in that session. I was in awe listening to the stories of the “Nattukottai Chettiar’s” or the “Nagarathars” as they are called in our Tamil heartland. The milk for abishekam and other pooja articles at Kasi viswanath temple are taken at 10.40 am and 9.30 pm every day chanting “Sambo Shankara” and they have the first right of pooja for these timings The success of the Nagarathars went far ..read more

“Chettinadu splendour” – what started as just a textile activity session with Meyammai Aachi in 2016, triggered varied interests and been an eye-opener for me. This blog post captures the key points discussed in that session. I was in awe listening to the stories of the “Nattukottai Chettiar’s” or the “Nagarathars” as they are called in our Tamil heartland. What Marwari businessmen are to the north and Parsis to the west, the Nagarathars are to the south! A conservative community of traders and financiers with traditions centuries old, their risk-taking aptitude, knowledge of numbers and integ ..read more

Gandhiji loved Tamilnadu, and particularly Madurai. He visited Madurai six times – in 1919, 1921, 1927, 1934 and 1946, and once enroute Travancore (1921) Feb 3, 1946 –  He visits Madurai after 9 years, just for a day. The main purpose was to have a darshan of Meenakshi Amman. 1939 – The Temple entry movement especially at Madurai, was one of the greatest reforms, where all the people could enter for worship. Gandhiji did not make a visit then, but comes later in 1946. At Samayanallur station, just before Madurai, huge crowds flock to see Gandhi, due to the pre-Independence wave and also ..read more

Across different religions, cloth plays a significant role in the worship, adoration, procession of Gods. The Dwaja rohana is an auspicious ritual in temples. At Puri Jagannath temple, the flag changing ceremony is done daily. Called a s the Chunara Seva, the “Chuna Garuda Sevaks” climb up a height of 215 feet on the Garba Mandira, and hoist the flag of Jagannatha which is called as the Patita – Pavana – Bana. The ensign or the flag of Jagannatha is the crowning glory on the Nila Chakra ( the blue wheel), both of them revered as iconic symbols of Jagannatha and symbolises protection to ..read more

All the 1330 couplets with Tiruvalluvar’s image on the mundhanai. Tiruvalluvar’s Thirukural sari has a mass appeal in our state. The visual repertoire is from distinct Tamil cultural emblems. The ethical treatise is attributed to the weaver-saint Valluvar, who is hailed as Deiva-Pulavar (divine poet) here. The missionary scholars established Thirukural as a universal code of ethics for the common pursuit of humans. During the anti-Hindi agitation in 1930s, Tiruvalluvar and Thirukural were proclaimed as apogee of Tamil culture. The Valluvarkottam was built in 1976 in the heart of Chennai ..read more