MIDAS Students- Study Rural/Vernacular of Tamil Nadu

KARIGIRI  is a small hamlet about 12 kms from Vellore. The place was once familiar for a particular type of Glazed Pottery which was brought to India by Persian potters who worked in the court of the Nawab of Carnatic region. It is a fact that the products of Karigiri could be seen almost entirely in the South and even up to Golconda region.
The Village is a "Potters Village" but unfortunately due to non patronage the art has almost vanished. There are a few potters who have survived but rarely practice their art. MIDAS has taken up Karigiri as a part of academic project stipulated by Anna University. The students will study for the next 6 to 8 weeks the Socio-Economic,Cultural, Physical and Visual aspects of the village. The aim is to see if the lost art could be revived in the PPP. MIDAS have taken the services of Dakshinchitra, Auroville and will approach Government of India for necessary funding to revive the art. Until few decades ago VTI- Victoria Technical Institute was a patron of this pottery. The "Magic Pitcher" was one of the rare products that could be seen today in museums.

Dr Mano Kumarasuriyer and his team from SURF will assist the project along with Architect Suhasini and Potter Rakhee Kane from Auroville. Dr Mano lectured on 4th January at MIDAS and talked about Shoji Hamada the revived pottery of Japan. Professor Jaffer AA Khan, Director of MIDAS spoke about a larger project that could happen eventually with so much cultural manifestations around. MIDAS has launched a research project and seeks funds from international organizations.