The Chola Empire (approximately 850 – 1250 C.E.) is known for constructing architectural wonders such as the Great Living Chola Temples (The Great Living Chola Temples are a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited on the tour). Sophisticated and beautiful bronze casting came to the fore during Chola rule; methods developed during this time are still being used today in workshops that have been running since the time of the Cholas. The tour will visit the Royal Palace Museum, where some hundreds of exquisite Chola bronze pieces are on display.
Families of bronze casters have created an unbroken lineage of apprenticeship and production extending from the ninth century to the present day. Masters of Fire, Hereditary Bronze Casters of South India (full pdf online) by Thomas E. Levy, Alina M. Levy, D. Radhakrishna Sthapathy, D. Srikanda Sthapathy, and D. Swaminatha Sthapathy offers detailed descriptions of bronze casting processes, production center organization and hereditary craftsmanship.
William Dalrymple is one of the most widely read authors on India. His book, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, includes a chapter called “The Maker of Idols” that profiles Srikanda, a traditional bronze caster in Swamimalai, where the tour will visit traditional workshops.
You can listen to an NPR segment about Nine Lives with William Dalrymple to learn more about the book. The link also includes an excerpt from one of the other stories in the book, that of a Jain nun.
As caste mobility has increased, several men born into the Chola bronze making tradition have opted for different professions, threatening the continuation of Chola bronze making. Meanwhile, a market for bronze idols has grown, both in India and around the world. In response, the Tamil Nadu government has been training sculptors via a three year course. Idols once produced for temple worship are now often mere showpieces and the craftspeople responsible for creating these works have gone from revered masters to vocational tradesmen. The implications of these developments, touched upon by Sowparnika Balaswaminathan in her article Icons and Identities: The Work and Lives of Bronzecasters in Swamimalai feautured in Marg Magazine will be a discussion topic during our travels.