SHAKUNTHALA JAGANNATHAN MUSEUM OF FOLK ART

Kanchipuram

“Nagareshu Kanchi”, was the greatest of cities, one of the seven mukti kshetras, the capital of ancient Tondaimandalam and the most ancient city of South India. Ashoka built a stupa here, and it was one of the great centres of learning in the ancient world. Patanjali refers to Kanchi in the 2nd century B.C. The ghatika was the famous university of Kanchi, a unique one of its kind. Hiuen-Tsang praised the city’s intellectual eminence and Avvaiyar described Tondaimandalam as a land of wise, learned people. Kanchipuram was also known as Kamakottam due to its association with the Goddess Kamakshi,  the chief deity of the town.

Kanchiwas  named after the kanchi tree, which was once found in abundance in the forests in this area. Also, ka means Brahma and anchi means worship, so Kanchi is the place where Brahma worshipped (Shiva). In Sanskrit, the word Kanchi meant a girdle, and the city was like a girdle of the earth.

Kanchipuram was reported to be a beautiful town and the 4thcentury Sangam work, Perumpanatruppadai, describes it thus : “Kanchi is beautiful like the heart of the lotus in the navel of Mahavishnu, which is said to be the birthplace of Brahma. Here, there are high ramparts around the town which are made of brick. Like the jackfruit tree which is full of singing birds and sweet and big fruit, Kanchi is also full of the noble festivals of people of different faiths. Therefore, this city is the greatest of all cities on this earth”. 

Shakunthala Jagannathan Museum of Folk Art is situated in Brahma Mandiram,  the 400 year-old house belonging to land owners of Damal, the maternal ancestors of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar. Reliable sources date it to the 16th - 17th century.  The existence of wall paintings, sculptures and household collections prompted the reuse of the house as a museum.  Sir C.P.’s mother Rangammal was the only child of Savitri and Conjeeverum Venkatasubba Aiyar, so she inherited the house and the Damal lands. On Raja Veedhi (street), another of her homes in Kanchi now houses the SSKV Girls’ Schools.

Shakunthala Jagannathan was the eldest grand daughter of Sir C.P. who had the idea of establishing a Museum of Folk Art in her ancestral house and gifted her own collections and inheritance to make it possible. Each room reflects the life and collections of an age gone by.
Kanchi, a Heritage of Art and Religion (published by the C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation) gives detailed information on various aspects of Kanchi’s history and culture.Separate pamphlets are available for more information on each section. Given here is a simple description of the Museum’s rooms and collections.

Thinnai

This is the front veranda, now adapted as a craft shop.

Kalyana koodam

The main hall, with a swing and other traditional furntiture, and a punkah for breeze. It also contains collections of old and antique dolls, once displayed during the kolu or festival of dolls during Navaratri, andancient palm leaves and writing systems.
The history of Kanchipuram from 300 B.C. to the British period is painted on one wall.

Vadyashala

The room of musical instruments used in folk and classical music.

Pooja

The prayer room of the house, it contains the domestic temple and ritual metal items.

Deepam

A collection of lamps once used to light up house in Tamilnadu.

Nadumitham

The open courtyard, an essential part of a typical South Indian house, provides ventilation and light for the whole house.
The stone sculptures heredate from the pre-Pallava (6th century A. D.) to the Vijayanagara (16th century) periods.
Stone grinders and mills used to pound flour, grind rice, lentils, herbs and spice paste and an old chekku (mill) can also be seen.

Chitrashala

Once decorated with wall paintings, today it contains a collection of paintings of the different regions of South India, from Tanjore glass and wood paintings to vegetable coloured cloth paintings.

Ugranam

This is the store house displaying cooking vessels of brass and copper.

Aindu Tinai

The five ecological divisions of ancient India :- marudam (agricultural land), paalai (desert), kurinji (hills), mullai (grassland) and neithal (coast), their typical plants and local crafts are on display.

Zenana

The women of the house congregated here. Their dressing, traditional make-up cases, and games are on view, displayed by old puppets from Kumbakonam.

Machi

The women of the house used to rest in this room in the hot summer afternoons.  After the harvest, rice grains would be stored here. A variety of mats are spread out in the machi.

Vastralayam

Kanchi was an ancient centre of cotton and silk weaving. Old silk and cotton saris and a hand loom are on display.

Pokkisham

Copies of traditional jewellery worn by men and women in their daily lives and at weddings are on displayed in this section.

Rooftop room

This was used to capture the summer breeze. It now houses a terracotta image of Kamakshi, the goddess of Kanchipuram district, facing the gopuram (gateway) tower of the temple of Ekambareshwara.

Collections

Traditional Furnitures Antique Dolls Ancient Palm Leaves Musical Instruments Pooja Implements Lamps Stone Sculptures Paintings Vessels Traditional Dressing & Make-up Cases Palm & Reed Mats Silk & Cotton Saris and Handloom Jewellery Indological Books

Admission fee

Publications

	Kanchipuram and the Shankunthala Jagannathan Museum of Folk Art
	Textiles of Tamilnadu
	Lamps of Tamilnadu
	Vessels of Kanchi

For more information, contact sjmuseum@cprfoundation.org
To view photogallery click here