‘Mahabalipuram – Unfinished Poetry in Stone’ released

(L to R) KRA Narasiah, GRK Reddy, Thangam Tennarasu, Leela Samsan, Prof S SwaminathanMahabalipuram is one of the sure places in the agenda of the tourists. The Temples in Stones, an ancient place, is the kind of a spot visited again and again. The sculpture has withstood all seasons. Mahabalipuram – Unfinished Poetry in Stone, was recently released by Thangam Tennarasu, minster of school education and archaeology, Govt of Tamil Nadu. The first copy was received by Leela Samson, director Kalakshetra Foundation. The author of the book Prof S Swaminathan, retired professor, Mechanical Engineering, IIT, Delhi gave a presentation on Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) explaining the features of sculptures, carved on stone.

The book is a study on the architectural and sculptural achievements of the Pallavas.  Mahabalipuram stood over all other sculptures for its unique achievement, the author told. Each sculpture is carved on one piece stone with perfection to balance, sensibility and form without a break. They have withstood the time on all seasons. The author revealed interesting information on flora in Mahabalipuram, an area never touched by anybody before. He showed slides of important sculptures and plants with appropriate scientific information. He extolled the visitors to go to Mahabalipuram with searching eyes and not just as a picnic spot.

He as well as the facilitators Pradip Chakraborty, an heritage activist and Prof Baluswam, Madras Christian College, endorsed the idea of initiating the children into heritage sense. While GRK Reddy, chairman and managing director, MARG group of companies, talked about his group’s social responsibility. The group had sponsored the trip to Mahabalipuram by the author and his team, besides the workshops and the efforts culminating into publishing a unique book. Mahabalipuram – Unfinished Poetry in Stone, demy quarter size, is priced at Rs 2,500.

Thangam Tennarasu, the state minister, spoke about his liaison in archaeology sites and works and efforts taken by him to include heritage in text books for different school, classes. Prof Baluswamy had observed earlier about the proficiency of the minister in reading stone-carved letters. He suggested that like Mahabalipuram some other heritage temples can be taken up for study. Leela Samson underscored the need for winds of change in children’s books. She advised bringing out authentic information on heritage sites to prevent ‘misinformation’ given by untrained guides.

The function was presided over by KRA Narasiah, himself a marine engineer turned writer. Knowing about the research done by the author, he remarked in his presidential address about the right choice of the author for the book due to his competence and suitability in the subject.

Badri Seshadri, managing director and publisher, New Horizon Media Pvt Ltd hosted the evening programme and was one of the organizers of the function. In all, it was an educational evening for 100+ heritage lovers.