For centuries, bronze idols have been used to give homes a regal touch. If yesteryear royal palaces were dotted with towering idols, the minimalist homes of today still manage to fit tiny idols on a corner-stand or simply, squeeze them between photo frames.
At the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Corporation Limited's Poompuhar showroom on Anna Salai, such idols come in all shapes and sizes, to suit the wallets of the customers. Displayed as part of the ‘Festival of Bronze Icons' that got under way on Monday, the statues, sculpted in accordance with ‘Silpa Sastra,' come in three finishes – polished, oxidised and antique.
Particularly eye-catching are idols of the four-feet-tall Saraswati, the intricately sculpted Dakshinamoorthy, the mammoth set of Murugan, Valli and Deivyanai, and petite Sodasa GanapathysThe display includes idols of Pichandavar, Lakshmi Narasimhar and Buddha, Most of the idols have been sourced from Swamimalai, and a few have been made at Poompuhar's unit in Chennai. The statues are priced between Rs.400 and Rs.47 lakh. A 15 per cent discount is being offered. Chairman-Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited, R.Vijaykumar, inaugurated the exhibition, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. till December 31.
