As you walk down the Kancheepuram house towards the Calicut house, you come across Sreenivasa Raghavan the glass blower at Dakshinachitra, who comes in on Saturdays and Sundays. Sreenivasa Raghavan makes glass figurines out of long tubes of glass. He uses a combination of LPG and Oxygen to ignite the flame and soften the glass at 1,400 degree centigrade. Once the glass is softened, he moulds it with another tube to make figurines out of them. These very eyes saw a peacock and a flower coming magically, right out of a long glass tube.

The Calicut house or the Syrian Christian house has been brought to Dakshinachitra from Kottayam. This house is representative of many 19th century homes found in and around Kottayam and its backwaters, where the Syrian Christian community settled several hundred years earlier. It typically has a lot of storage space. The entrance leads you directly into the granary. Made of Jack wood, the house includes a living room, separate dining room and kitchen, a sign of the early westernization of the community and the social trend of entertaining guests in the family home. The striking features of the house being the wood craft and the emphasis on storage space and the well inside the kitchen.

The Hindu house from Kerala, originally belonged to an agriculturist Nair family. The house has a wooden structure which is representative of houses in southern Kerala. It differs from the Christian house from Kottayam only in its layout. It also had the Uruli (iron vessel) on display. With the advent of stainless steel and copper bottom vessels, the Uruli finds limited use in most homes today, as it is cumbersome to handle. Food cooked in the Uruli is considered extremely tasty. It also preserves the flavour and nutrition in the food. Apart from cooking, the Uruli is also used for boiling Ayurveda oils and medicines.

To celebrate Ugadi, Dakshinachitra had organised a Kalamkari workshop at its premises, for people who wished to learn this ancient art of vegetable dyeing. The themes used in Kalamkari work are usually religious. Kalamkari became popular in the 17th and 18th century, but its value started eroding after block printing became the cheaper and convenient option.

And next we moved on to the Chettinad House or Merchant house from Kandanur village. Chettiars are the merchant community of Tamil Nadu. They possess huge palatial houses, which start on one street and end at the back street. These houses have huge Thinnais (big verandah outside the house) where the weary traveller is allowed to rest for the day or night. Known for their hospitality and philanthropy, the Chettiar inmates of the house serve the guest, (read unknown stranger), buttermilk or some food. The Mittam (courtyard) of the house is the most important part of the house, where the whole family assembles during important ceremonies. The main courtyard opens out to a series of rooms owned by the sons of the family, and there is a small courtyard for cooking behind the main courtyard.

Opposite the Chettiar house is a cluster of houses which is the Brahmin Agraharam (street where the Brahmins lived) from Ambur and Tirunelveli. The Brahmin community of Tamil Nadu lived in austere homes around the temple. The community serves the temple and takes care of all the rituals that are performed in the temples. All the Brahmins living in Agraharam houses are related to each other in some way or the other.

These houses are very narrow in width, but very long. They have common walls. They almost always do not have a inner courtyard, but have a lot of space at the backyard. The Tulasi is given a special place in the courtyard, and the lady of the house performs pooja for the Tulasi everyday. The interiors have been opened out as a gallery inside, which is used to house traditional religious craft from Tamil Nadu. Inside one of the houses you have the Shadow Puppet show. The subject dealt with are usually the lifestyle of royal families. Outside, there is the Killijoshiyam (a parrot picks up your fortune card, and the fortune teller reads it out to you) and the Palm Reader attempting to predict your future.

And finally we move on to the Agriculturist house from Saatanur, Tanjavur, the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. This house is made from lime, egg shell, Kaduka (Herb) and Karupatti (Herb). It is a big house, which means its a landlord's house, with the Unjal (swing) and the Mittam in the middle of the house.

According to Visalakshi Chandrashekaran, one of the volunteers at Dakshinachitra, on an average there are around 70 visitors to Dakshinachitra each day. On holidays and Sundays the place is full of people. The Kanali restaurant, run by the Taj group, opens at 10.00 am and closes at 6.00 pm. The place is let out for special lunches and dinners for wedding receptions, get-togethers and corporate conferences. The rooms at Dakshinachitra are let out at special request, but the prerogative lies with the management of Dakshinachitra.

Open 10.00 am - 6.00 pm.
Closed on Tuesdays.
Address: Dakshinchitra, Muttukadu, East Coast Road, Chingleput District, Tamil Nadu 603112.
Phone: 091-04114 (915) 45303,
Madras Craft Foundation: 491 8943,442435