VAIGAI - Travel Themed Studio

Keeladi.Madurai naagaram

Th

udi

Ramanathapuram neithal

m

hu t u r

ma

paalai

Paramak

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Me mu

gh

lla

i.k

am

ur

un

al

ji

ai

Thottipalam marutham

Vaigai

river valley civilization

Faculty Co-ordinators

Art. Koilpichai Prabhakar Artist “An Artist who has been selected under top 100 for a National award given by Lalit Kala Academy with around more than 15 Years of Experience in the field. Beginning out as a commercial artist, he brought the ethos of promotion into fine art, even going so far as to say, “Making money is art.” Such attitudes blew away the existential declarations of Abstract Expressionism. His area of expertise includes Ceramic Design.”

Ar. Prithvi M Architect Ar. Prithvi Mahadevan is a young architect with an increasing love for ecology and the social aspects of the society. She has been involved in research and mapping of ecology in the city of Chennai, with special focus on the water resources. She is also actively involved in using the research projects as a container to conduct the Urban design Studio.

Purpose The purpose of the “Travel Themed Studio” is to introduce TRAVEL as a methodology of learning and this first travel experience is completely planned and executed by the students - from the itinerary to finances and arranging for accomodation and food. The holistic experience of this TRAVEL themed studio.

VAIGAI The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the Kambam Valley, which lies between the Palani Hills to the north and the Varushanad Hills to the south. The Vattaparai Falls are located on this river. As it rounds the eastern corner of the Varushanad Hills, the river turns southeast, running through the region of Pandya Nadu. Madurai, the largest city in the Pandya Nadu region and its ancient capital, lies on the Vaigai. The river empties into the Palk Bay near Uchipuli, close to Pamban bridge in Ramanathapuram District.

Day 1

neithal

Vaigai

Ramanathapuram

Vaigai and the Bay of Bengal Starting our DAY 1 by visiting MUGHADWARAM or the river mouth that connects VAIGAI to the sea.

The main occupation of this area revolves around fishing and all aliied occupations realted to fishing. The students here are speaking to the locals in understanding their way of life and occupation.

The students collected shells of different types that had unique texture and patterns.

Collecting and understanding these shells sparked conversations on the ways of how nature forms these topologies was an integral part of visiting the beaches.

The discussions were to understand the ecosystem that forms when a RIver meets the sea.

Mukhadwaram ESTUARY

FISHING

Vaigai and people The students visited the VAIGAI ooru (settlement) that is on the banks of the VAIGAI river. The settlement is named VAIGAI ooru and it is a quaint little village with a temple in the middle surrounded by a lake. The main intent to stop in this area was to make the students interact with the people to know more about the river and their livlihood.

The experience of talking with people was inculcated here where the students asked a variety of questions such as ‘Do they use the VAIGAI water?’, the history of VAIAGI river with folklores and tell tales.

The students interacted with people from different age groups and genders and connected emotionally to the people.

Vaigai Ooru

VISITING THE VILLAGE

SALT PANS

FIRE WOOD

VAIGAI and occupations Along our journely through the VAIGAI river the students were taken through a series of livelihoods that are based on the river itself directly or indirectly.

1. SALT PANS - Due to the close proximity to the sea, the banks of the river are used to create salt through these salt pans.

2. FIREWOOD - The availability of ‘seemakaruvelai maram’ the thorny bushes, much of it used to be cut and used as firewood.

The students interacted with the people here to understand the challenges in each of these occupations.

Livelihoods OCCUPATIONS SUPPORTED BY VAIGAI

VAIGAI and history RAMANATHAPURAM Palace is a an Nayakar palace that was built in the Nayaka Period. The palace has a large court in the front and intimate spaces at the back. The style of this palace is a composite one with many different types of building styles and forms. The entire structure is filled with fresco paintings of the period.

The built heritage of this Nayaka period is a culmination of varied styles that were prevalant thorughout India. One could see these cross cultural influneces in art and architecture.

Architecture

excercise TEXTURED

This excercise is inspired by VAIGAI where the students were asked to conceptulize the entire trip as different textures. These textures can be interpreted in terms of its visual or sensory appeal.

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

ANALYSE & INTERPRET The excercise was a direct representation of the VAIGAI trip where the idea of abstraction was introduced.

The students had to represent what they saw visually or experiences through touch in form of textures.

Many students reimagined their experiences in varied textures with variety of materials. the principle of variety and datum was explored through this excercise.

RHYTHM VARIETY

THE TEXTURE STORY

excercise exploring WOOD

This excercise creates a pattern from nails to represent a story from the VAIGAI trip. The excercise explores wood as a material.

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

This was a group excercise where the students created a nail sculpture on a plywood board. The concepts were derived from the stories and experiences that were gathered from the VAIGAI trip. The repesentation is abstract and creates a sense of space and gives a unique dimension when the light hits the sculpture. Some paint colours have been used to take the concept forward.

ANALYSE & INTERPRET

ABSTRACTION

NAIL INSTALLATION

NAIL SCULPTURE

- Labour of love

Day 2

Paalai

Vaigai

Paramakudi

Starting our DAY 2 by visiting the brick kiln. The kiln belonged to a local and had many employees.

The students were allowed to walk on the kiln and the firing process of the brick was viewed from the top.

The kiln runs 24 hours and about 3000 bricks are generated in one batch. The bricks are exported all over the country. The students spoke to the workers and the employer.

Vaigai and OCCUPATIONS

BRICK KILN LIVELIHOODS

The next stop was at a weaving village in Paramakudi. This village were full of households that had a weaving dharis where people from Saurashtra had settled.

The students spoke to the people about the migration and the process of weaving from preparing the thread to loading it on the dhari. The students learnt how patterns are formed and how two threads mix together to form weaved patterns.

Vaigai and OCCUPATIONS

WEAVING LIVELIHOODS

excercise SAREE PATTERN

This excercise is inspired by VAIGAI where a weaving village was visited in Paramakudi. The excercises induges understanding of patterns, colour theory and analysing threads as lines and representing them simultaneously.

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

S A R E E P AT T E R N ANALYSE & INTERPRET

This excercise was inspired from our visit to the PARAMAKUDI weaving settlement where the excercise was formulated. The idea of this excercise is to understand colour theory through using threads of different colours vertically and horizontally. The mix of these two threads gives another colour creating a pattern.

The saree pattern excercise was formulated with a pattern of chequer styled saree that the students saw in a weaver’s house.

The motifs on the saree was inspired by the many places they visited throughout the trip.

PATTERN COLOUR THEORY

State of VAIGAI

SQUATTER SETTLEMENT

On the way towards Keeladi from Ramanathapuram, we stopped to find a way to see the hidden VAIGAI. Along the banks of this River is the seemakaruvelai bushes that takes away all the water and keeps growing without end.

On the banks we saw a squatter settlement where these people here keep moving based on the job they acquire. At that time they were stationed on the banks of VAIGAI river for shelter. As we walked past them we saw all their daily household activities happening on the banks.

SURVIVAL

excercise DYNAMIC PLANES

The intent of this excecise is to imagine WIRE as water and create a set of dynamic planes to form a part of VAIGAI RIVER from their trip. Translucent material can be used to create and accentuate their concept.

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

DYNAMIC PLANES ANALYSE & INTERPRET

This excercise was ideated to imagine water as wire and any translucent material like buttersheet or rice paper or OHP sheet as the things happening around VAIGAI river and ideate a planes model that shows repetition.

The entire composition should have a story and the composition should make logical sense. Water anf its dynamism should be shown in this model.

RHYTHM REPETITION

ABSTRACTION TESLATION

Myths and Mythology Melathooval is a small quaint village near the VAIGAI river that functions on the myth that all the people of the village beleive - if the people of that village build a pakka house or a house with a flatroof which would eventually allow them to expand upwards, something untowards would happen in the family.

They shared many stories with the students where they mentioned names of many families who attempted to build better homes and either they died or came face to face with accidents.

The Myth was started such that no one in the village builds above the level of the temple. There seemed to be a deeper reason why this myth was started which related its origins to the prevalant caste system.

The stories of the village were very unique and the students interacted with people of different ages and asked about their personal challenges in living in such an environment.

Melathooval

Day 3

nagaram

Vaigai

Madurai & Keeladi

Vaigai Civilisation Keeladi or Keezhadi was a Sangam age settlement that existed centuries ago. The settlement lies on the bank of the Vaigai River and it reflects the ancient culture of Tamil people.

This site is located 12 km southeast of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, near the town of Keezhadi in Sivagangai district.

Initially, this site was estimated to be from the period between 5th century BCE and 3rd century CE later confirming it to be about 2,200 years ago (3rd century BCE).

Keeladi

3RD CENTURY CITY

Vaigai Civilisation Almost 48 square pits have been cut and various structures and artifacts have been found, including frosts, brick walls, roof tiles, pottery, mimic accessories, skeletal tools, iron Vel, and Tamil-Brahmi letter-etched plates.

This place is considered to be Pandyan dynasty’s city called “Perumanalur”, the pioneer of literature. The use of fired brick, the size of the building complex, an array of pots placed in such a way that it must have been used either as a lamp or for painting, and other findings suggest that the settlement is of a more civilized population than was previously suspected during the Sangam period.

3RD CENTURY CITY

Thirumala Naickar Mahal Vaigai and the city

MADURAI

21ST CENTURY CITY

Vaigai Civilisation Chithirai Thiruvizha, Meenakshi Kalyanam or Meenakshi Thirukalyanam, is an annual Tamil Hindu celebration in the city of Madurai during the month of April.

The festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chithirai, is associated with the Meenakshi Temple, dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati and her consort Sundareshwar, a form of Shiva.

The festival lasts for one month.

Madurai

21ST CENTURY CITY

excercise SCULPTING

This excercise intents to create a solid sculpture from a plaster of paris mould representing patterns and scenes from the VAIGAI trip.

The inference is to understand scupting and techniqes to explore the material.

EXPLORING MATERIALS

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

SCULPTING ANALYSE & INTERPRET

The material explored here is plaster of paris. It is a soft material that can be used for sculpting. The main idea of this excercise was to introduce different material that could potentially be used in model making or imagining a space with properties of this materials.

The excercise required the students to take a pattern or an idea from the trip and carve it out from a solid block of P.O.P..

This excercise was tounderstand the art of scuplting, understanding SOLID and VOID and to explore toold and techniques of different materials.

SOLID & VOID

Day 4

MArutham

Vaigai

Theni

Vaigai and Agriculture As the trip progressed we moved to areas where VAIGAI water is being used for agriculture. The irrigation systems and schemes introduced by the Government was the main discussion points.

The first activity in the land of farmlands was to experience it first hand. We all walked barefoot and experienced the way agriculture is done. The students also spoke to the people who were working in the fields to know about their struggles.

Walking in fields

AGRI UNIVERSITY -

To understand the technology related to agriculture

CHURCH ARCHITECTURE - To understand church architecture in the region

Vaigai and irrigation Vaigai Dam Built across the majestic River Vaigai near Andipatti, the dam with a height of 111 feet can store 71 feet of water. It is 7 km from Andipatti,25 kms from Theni This dam was established on January 21,1959.

Near the dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed an Agricultural Research Station for researching the growing of a variety of crops, including rice, sorghum, blackgram, cowpea and cotton.

VAIGAI WATER & IRRIGATION

Vaigai DAM

Day 5

MArutham

Vaigai

Thottipalam

EXPLORING TYPES OF AGRICULTURE

Vaigai and irrigation THOTTIPALAM or acquduct here in the Theni district was built by a Givernment scheme called “58 kaalvai thittam”.

The scheme was to cater water to the agriculture fields in the region where for many years there was deprivation of water and the people could not do agriculture.

The students interacted with farmers of the region and also saw how the vegetables grown here are exported to be sold in Chennai in Koyambedu market.

The Vaigai water virtually reaches many places, Chennai being one of the main players.

The students also saw different techniques for agriculture and the routes water takes to make it happen. Different types of known vegetables were also explored.

Agriculture

VAIGAI WATER & IRRIGATION

In the process of looking at agriculture we also decided impromtly to do kootanchoru or mixed rice for lunch where we collected all vegetables and utensils from the village and found an apt spot to cook.

The whole experience was an amazing team building activity.

The students washed the vessals, washed vegetables, prepared for the lunch and cooked the lunch.

A unique way of cooking eggs was also applied where we wrapped the egg in mud and kept it on the fire for it to cook.

COOKING & TEAM BUILDING

KOOTANCHORU

Vaigai and irrigation THOTTIPALAM or acquduct here in the Theni district was built by a Givernment scheme called “58 kaalvai thittam”.

The scheme was to cater water to the agriculture fields in the region where for many years there was deprivation of water and the people could not do agriculture.

Thottipalam

excercise EXPLORING GLASS

The intent of this excercise to represent a story from the VAIGAI trip as a colourful pattern. The pattern can represent a story, incident or an abstract idea.

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

U N D E R S TA N D I N G G L A S S ANALYSE & INTERPRET

the transparent nature of glass was explored in this excercise by adding colour to you. The excercise tries to understand how light changes the charachter of glass and how it could be used as a building material.

As a material stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture, and usually then further decorating it in various ways. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in enamelled glass in which the colours have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln; very often this technique is only applied to parts of a window.

COLOUR THEORY

COMPOSITION

ABSTRACTION

Day 6

Vaigai

kurinji M U L L A I

Meghamalai

E LY Z

I A N S

Vaigai and irrigation Meghamalai commonly known as the High Wavy Mountains, is a mountain range located in the Western Ghats in the Theni district near Kumily, Tamil Nadu. It is dotted with cardamom plantations and tea plantations.

The mountain range is 1,500 metres above sea level, and it is rich in flora and fauna.

Access is largely restricted and includes largely untouched remnants of evergreen forest.

The VAIGAI river originates from these mountains.

Meghamalai

excercise PLANOMETRIC

PLANOMETRIC D I A G R A M

madurai

ANALYSE & INTERPRET

This excercise is a GROUP excercise that imagines the VAIGAI trip as a Planometric diagram depicting a story. This story is derived from a skit that was presented from depicting scenes and incidents from VAIGAI trip.

FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO

melathooval

PLANOMETRIC

SKIT FROM VAIGAI

DIAGRAM PLANOMETRIC MAP

This excercise was ideated to happen in two stages. The first one is where groups of students took some incidents fictitious or non-ficticious from the trip and places they visited and enacted them as play.

The place the skit happened was drawn as a planometric diagram.

The diagram showed the entire trip and its landscape in one scale and the specific area of the skit in a magnified form, thus understanding scale through the process.

SCALE - PROPORTION TRANSFORMATION

paramakudi