Pallava style sculptures, a rarity these days

While Mamallapuram is a seat of the exquisite Pallava architecture, the stone sculptures sold by artisans do not really reflect this period. Gopu Rangaratnam, historian and member, Tamil Heritage Trust, said that one cannot find a Pallava-style sculpture done by artisans today anywhere in Mamallapuram.

“I have visited Mamallapuram 30 around times or so, but have not seen even one Pallava style sculpture. One can find generic sculptures including deities such as Ganesha and Buddha. I hope that the GI tag encourages more sculptors to make Pallava style stone sculptures,” said the historian.

Sculptors, too concurred. “We do all styles of sculptures – from the Chola and Pallava period. But we found that the Chola styles are more popular than the Pallava sculptures. At the Mamallapuram College of Sculpture. we were taught the various styles. We learnt how every inch of a sculpture should be a specific measurement, which is followed judiciously by all of us,” said Rajesh, a local sculptor.

Most art historians agree that sculptures from the Pallava period are the most graceful, said Gopu.

Historian Chithra Madhavan pointed out that that art of stone carving has had a continuity over the centuries. “While it may not be possible to exactly replicate the sculpture that existed 1,400 years ago, I think the artisans are trying their best to do so. It is not possible to get the exact form as it was during the Pallava era, as a lot has changed. In fact, Mamallapuram finds a mention in the 8th century Sanskrit work, Avanti Sundari Katha, which speaks of the greatness of a particular sculptor in repairing the broken image of Vishnu. In fact, it was done so perfectly that the king could not make out it had been repaired.

This shows that Mamallapuram not only had great sculptors, but also those who could repair these marvels without the cracks being obvious,” she added.

Mamallapuram is the one of the very few places in Tamil Nadu where one can see the evolution of the temple, said historian Venkatesh R. “There are cave temples (Adivaraga), monoliths (Pancha rathas) and structural temples, built by assembling different pieces (Shore temple). Mamallapuram gave rise to Kalki’s Sivagamiyin Sabatham, where the story was based on a highly talented sculptor and his beautiful daughter during the time of attacks by the Chalukyas on this port city. But Mamallapuram became stuck in time after the Pallava and other royal patronage ceased. In fact, by the last century, the historical town became an abandoned fishing hamlet, which was only connected to the city after the Muthuranga Mudaliar bridge was built in 1939. Before that, one could only access it by boat across the Buckingham Canal. Edward Lear, the limerick writer, and Annie Besant have written travelogues about boat rides to Mamallapuram,” he said.