6/16/2015

LegacyofAthanguditilesTheHindu

Theyarearareblendoftheeastandthewestandhaveinterestingmodesofproduction
thatspeakfortheirdurability,saysarchitectSATHYAPRAKASHVARANASHI
Durabilityhasalwaysbeenamongthemajorcriteria
inthedesignandbuildworld.Whileitwasearlier
regardedasahallmarkofquality,todayitisalsoa
markofsustainabledesign,forlongerthelifeofthe
initialinvestmentofefforts,energyandresources,
themoreecofriendlyisthematerial.Thisisone
areawhereAthangudifloortilesscoreoverthe
others.
Athangudisoundsmorelikeaplacenamethanan
optionforfloortiles,buttodaytheproducthas
madeboththeplaceandtilesfamous.Theyare
mademainlyinAthangudivillageoftheChettinadu
regioninTamilNadu.Thetraditionalmodeof
productioncontinuestilldate,maintainingalegacyandgrandeur.Athanguditilesarebasicallycementtiles
likemosaic,butunlikethemachinepressedandproducedmosaics,theyarehandmadeoverglasssurfaces.
Duringtheearlydaysoftheirproduction,theywerepatronisedmorebytherich,beingacostlieroption
andnewertechnologyinthosedays.However,theyalsodeserveanadditionalhonourforbeingapartof
theculturalheritageoftheChettiarcommunity.
TheaffluentChettiarcommunitybroughthomeideasandartefactsfromtheirtradetravels,resultingin
EuropeanandAsianitemsfindingtheirwaytoChettinadu.UntilthenSouthIndianfloorswereclayor
stonebasedandplaininfinish.Itcanbehypothecatedthatthepatternsofcarpets,easytohandle10x10
sizesofEuropeantilesandglazedsurfacefinishesofChinesewaremighthaveinfluencedthelocalmasons
toproducetheAthanguditiles.Ifso,theyarealsoarareblendoftheeastandthewest.
ToappreciateAthanguditiles,itisimportanttounderstandtheirmodesofproductionaswell.
Themixofcementandcolouredoxideinaliquidslurrystateisindividuallypouredintopatternedmoulds
uponaglasspiece.Athinlayeroflocalsandislaidthetileisthenfilledtothreefourthinchthicknesswith
cement,sandandsmallstoneaggregatesorjellytogetthetile.
Itiscuredinwaterforaminimumof21daysandreadiedforlaying.Imagine,allthisisdonetoeverytile
individually,buildingupanamazinghandicraftindustry.Whiletheredcolourtileslooklikeredoxide
flooring,variedgeometricalandfloralpatternsarealsoavailable.Thetraditionalpatternsarestillbeing
continuedwith,henceAthanguditilesareamongthefewchoicesavailabletodaytocreateanethnic
ambience.However,unlikeredoxide,thesetilescomewithgreatersmoothnessandshine.Indesigns,
finish,qualityanddurability,Athangudicancompetewithanyofmodernmanufacturedflooringmaterials,
ofcoursewithitsownadvantagesanddisadvantages.Usedintherightplaceandcontext,Athanguditiles
areamongthesustainablesolutionsaheadofus.
(Thewriterisanarchitectworkingforecofriendlydesignsandcanbecontactedat
varanashi@gmail.com)

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