The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Temple art gallery to get a facelift

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 30, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Temple art gallery to get a facelift

Staff Reporter

And upgrade it as a museum at an estimated cost of Rs.1.5 crore: Collector

— Photo: K. Ganesan.

Check-up: Sathyabhama Badrinath, Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of India, with committee members inspecting an artefact in Madurai on Saturday.

MADURAI: Efforts were on to provide a facelift for the Temple Art Gallery at Thousand Pillar Hall of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and upgrade it as a museum at an estimated cost of Rs.1.5 crore, said District Collector, S.S. Jawahar, here on Saturday.

After participating in a review meeting of experts from different fields gathered to provide technical expertise for the work, he said that the renovation work would concentrate on interior decorations, design and estimation of showcases, selection of artefacts and preparation of capsule notes for display.

Right from flooring to lighting arrangement and from maintenance to display, everything would be taken care of with utmost care, he said. Each sculpture would be covered with a showcase. The colours of lighting and flooring would be selected to enhance the ambience without disturbing the serenity and traditional beauty of the gallery, he added.

Explaining the salient features of the project, S. Ravi, former Dean, School of Planning and Architecture, Anna University, one of the members of the committee, said that ticket counters for the museum would be set up in a wooden cabin to augment traditional look and movement of visitors inside the museum would be regulated so that the visitors did not miss even a single artefact, he added.

Some of the exquisite pillars would be protected with artistic chains to keep the visitors at a distance to prevent any tampering. Sculptures depicting 64 episodes of ‘Tiruvilayadal’ (divine sport) of Lord Siva would be reconstructed, repaired and then displayed for public view. Besides, traditional puja articles would be collected and exhibited. A separate enclosure for those interested in research activities would be provided, which would also double up as a library with some interesting manuscripts and rare books stacked, said Mr. Ravi.

The selection of artefacts would be handled by Sathyabhama Badrinath, Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of India, said Mr. Jawahar.

He said that a special hydraulic lift would be installed at the entrance to facilitate physically challenged and old people a hassle free entry into the museum.

J.R. Asokan, curator, Madras Museum, Joint Commissioners of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, B. Raja, and G. Rajanayakam took part in the meeting.

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