Echoes of the Coromandel, an art show at the moment exhibited at DakshinaChitra Museum, Chennai, takes viewers on a voyage alongside the south-eastern coast of India, beforehand a thriving maritime connection to Southeast Asia. Developed by a staff of ten interns working by way of the museum’s year-long Dak Chola Internship, the show interweaves analysis and design to deliver a lesser-known side of maritime historical past to the fore.
“Trade narratives often focus on the West coming to India,” says Mugdha Chavan, one of the interns, including, “but for Southeast Asia, we were the West. There was an entire cultural and commercial exchange happening in that direction, and we wanted to highlight this lesser-told story.”
The group was divided into two groups — analysis and design. While the researchers traced routes, cultures, and commodities, the design staff introduced them to life in visible kind. Most of the items on show, from reproduction cash and pottery to navigational charts, had been crafted by hand. Inscriptions had been carved with the assist of the museum’s in-house artisan.
Artists establishing the exhibit
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particular association
Divided into three segments: The Beginning, The Peak, and The Echoes, the exhibition thematically maps this trans-oceanic connection. The first part presents archaeological and literary proof, together with Sangam verses that point out ports, and commodities that had been traded.
The subsequent part explores conventional navigation strategies that used finger-measurement strategies and the alignment of stars to navigate. A documentary shot by the interns at Kasimedu Harbour options present-day fishermen explaining conventional ship-building and crusing strategies that echo these of the previous.
The last part, The Echoes, illustrates the cultural footprints left behind, like temple structure, language, and mythology that resonate throughout borders. The towering statue of Lord Murugan in Malaysia, leather-based puppets depicting The Ramayana, and similarities in temple design throughout Southeast Asia, all level to the cultural infusion enabled by trade.
The staff behind the exhibit
| Photo Credit:
particular association
Echoes of the Coromandel, on view till May 18, invitations guests to find a shared historical past formed by journeys throughout the sea. While at DakshinaChitra, one may take a look at Four Aesthetics, an art exhibition on view till May 11. This exhibition showcases variety in art kinds and numerous interpretations of kinds, themes, and feelings.
Published – May 06, 2025 03:54 pm IST
