D.S.R. EXPORTS Mylapore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

WOODEN FURNITURE AND WOOD CARVINGS       Woodwork started in India as a temple and palace craft, and flourished alongside architecture and sculpture. Depending on local availability, different type of woods were used for wood carving, and fashioned into religious, decorative and functional articles. The traditional wooden houses of Kerala in South India showcases Indian wooden art. The carpenters and architects of South India are renowned for making classic wooden carving work.      Rosewood is commonly used for making furniture and other wooden articles. Rose wood is available in abundance in the forests of Karnataka in South India. Mysore town has become center for rose wood carving from medieval period. Since rose wood has a brilliant tan colour, images of Hindu pantheon are carved in this wood. Large figures of Krishna, Ram, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha as per Hindu mythology are carved. Animal figures such as elephants and wooden panels incorporating various shades of wood and Sofa sets, Dining sets chest of drawers, screens are also made by skilled artisans of the region.      The quality of the final product is unmatched. The furniture of classical Indian style are made. The wooden artisans fall under two major categories. The house hold furniture makers and creators of statuettes and other figurines. The engravings and wooden carvings are done in a unique traditional Indian style.  They have excellent aesthetic value.

The stoneware products are manufactured using techniques that remain unchanged from ancient times. The entire process is hand made.Different types of clay from all over India are homogeneously mixed to prepare items which can retain its shape at 1300 degree centigrade.This clay is then thrown to different shapes such as tea set, cookie jar, flower vase, lamp base, coffee mugs, and many such table wares.      The items are glazed using lead free non-toxic glazes and the pieces are fired at 850 degree and then to 1300 degree centigrade.They can be used in micro-wave ovens also

Stone sculpting is a prominent art of ancient South India quite evident from the numerous temples constructed there. The stone sculpting reached its peak during the pallava period. The world famous Mahabalipuram was created during the pallava reign.  Traditionally the process of stone sculpting involves monolithic construction where the statues are carved from a single rock. Now modern machineries are used to recreate the classic work. The sculptures show a variety of exaggerated poses unique to Dravidian culture.           The stone sculptors are called “sirpis”.  A strict discipline is followed by sirpis in creating the sculptures as most of them depict Hindu gods and goddesses.

 The origin of this art lies in the celebration of annual harvest festival of South India called “Pongal”. During the festival the domestic cows are decorated with garlands made from the stem of the water plant called netti. In pith work the netti is used in developing various replicas of temples, famous monuments  etc.        The netti stem is dried and the outer brown skin is peeled off. The white coloured inner stalk has a very smooth surface and is light weight. Many small blocks of carved netti stem is assembled to construct miniature replicas.

KORAI MATS         The mats are crafted out of korai grass. They are flexible and soft. The usage of Korai mats started during the ancient chola period from the grasses obtained in the cauvery delta region. These mats are seen in almost every household in South India. They can be used as a decorative piece in the form of wall hangings, flooring, room partitions etc.  PALM LEAF ARTICLES        The palm leaves are dried off and cut into thin strips. These strips are skillfully weaved to make variety of products such as baskets, bags,  dolls, decorative hand fans etc. 

Ceramics art ware making emerged with the entry of Neyveli Lignite Corporation in the early 70s. It is the source for birth of ceramic industry in South India. The availability of fine clay from the mines and the support of manufacturing white clay by the above corporation pave the wave for formation of these activities. Vibrant colors are used to create attractive dolls which are comprises of idols of Indian mythology and various animal figurines. Other common ceramic items created include flower vase, cookeries, containers, toys, idols etc

     Cane is a type of bamboo grass with flexible woody stalk that are widely cultivated in north east India. The cane is used for making common household accessories. The cane sticks are skillfully tied and bent together to make furniture, racks, swing, baskets etc. Varying thickness of cane is used for making the articles. Cane is first quenched in water and conditioned, tough canes are bent by heating in fire. After completion the surface is smoothened and coated with varnish. Colours are added as per user requirement.           Cane products are encouraged widely due to their natural properties.  They are light weight, robust and reliable.                  Cane Furniture are light weight and durable and it provides an attractive natural look. The cane furniture include chairs, tables, sofa set, racks, swings etc.

   Cane is a type of bamboo grass with flexible woody stalk that are widely cultivated in north east India. The cane is used for making common household accessories. The cane sticks are skillfully tied and bent together to make furniture, racks, swing, baskets etc. Varying thickness of cane is used for making the articles. Cane is first quenched in water and conditioned, tough canes are bent by heating in fire. After completion the surface is smoothened and coated with varnish. Colours are added as per user requirement.             Cane products are encouraged widely due to their natural properties.  They are light weight, robust and reliable.           The household articles include flowe baskets, bags, wall hangings, plates, containers etc

The lost wax process method of bronze casting was developed in South India during the time of Chola Empire (900 A.D.). It was the golden age of arts in Dravidian history. The bronze statues adorned the famous temples like Tanjavur Bragadeswarar, Chidambaram Natarajar etc. which are considered as the epitome of Cholan architecture. The abundance of wealth that existed during the reign of “Raja Raja Chola” encouraged him to initiate large scale development of lost wax process of bronze casting.             Beeswax is used to create the mould. The figure is made from the wax with all the details. The entire figure is then covered with clay. The bronze mixture called “Pancha Loham” is melted and poured into the empty clay-mould. The wax model melts and flows out. When the mixture is cooled, the mould is broken off. The bronze figure thus obtained is then cleaned, finishing touches are added, impurities are removed, smoothened, and polished. Each bronze statue that is created is unique.                    The traditional statues exhibits unique dancing poses called “Thandavam”. There are 108 thandavams in Bharatha Natyam (ancient Indian danceform), they portray lord Shiva’s dancing pose. The statues also have variety of hand gestures called “Muthras”. The Dravidian art does not provide greater detail in facial expression or physical structure like in western art instead the variations lies in the pose and body positions. This is mainly due to the fact that the features of the body are made using the same measurements found in the ancient techniques and are handed down from one generation to the next.                  A separate community of people has dedicated their lives for centuries to develop this fine art. These craftsmen are called “Stapathis”. The stapathis follow a strict traditional discipline to create the statues since they have religious and devotional values. The Hindu gods and goddesses in the inner sanctum of temples are usually made of these pancha logam bronze statues. Apart from temples nowadays the statues can be seen in hotel lobbies, office receptions etc.

ARANMULA METAL MIRROR             The Aranmula metal mirror manufacturing began in the 18 century. It is believed to be started in Parthasarathy temple in Kerala a southern state of India. While working on the bronze metal for statues the artisans discovered that one particular copper-bronze alloy possessed great reflective property. Clay is used in making mould for the mirrors. The purified alloy is broken into bits and put into crucible attached to the mould. After eight hours of continuous heating the alloy melts completely. The mould is left for 2 to 3 days undisturbed to cool and then the metal mirror plate is taken and polished manually. In an ordinary mirror there is a silver nitrate coating which reflects an image of the object. When the surface comes into contact with a piece of paper there appears a gap between the object and the image. But in case of Aranmula metal mirror, the object and the image merge.