Why Mahabs is losing its craft

CHENNAI: The Supreme Court’s ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a vision document to protect the Taj Mahal has brought into focus monuments maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Tamil Nadu as granite and sandstone monuments, much older than the Taj, in Mamallapuram and Kancheepuram are eroding every passing year due to inadequate conservation efforts.
While honeycomb cavities have taken over the surface of the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, murals at Kailasanathar Temple in Kancheepuram are fading away. This comes despite the science branch of the ASI executing chemical conservation methods to protect the temples. “Fine particles are falling off from the walls of the Kailasanathar Temple, a sandstone monument. This happens even as chemical washing is being carried out periodically,” an ASI official said. Chemical washing clears the foreign particles on the surface of the structure but little has been done to strengthen the deteriorating sandstone structure.
Vaikuntaperumal Temple and Kailasanathar Temple in Kancheepuram are maintained by the ASI. “The murals in the temple have taken a heavy beating. Only 25% of the original murals are visible now,” the official said.

The Shore Temple too is losing its carvings and sculptures. Though paper pulp method is being used for about two decades as part of chemical conservation efforts to remove salt deposits, little attention has been given to structural maintenance. The ASI is exploring stone-capping technology to arrest the entry of sea breeze through pores of the monument. Official sources said steps were taken to study the structure but efforts to strengthen it were not made.
Former official in the archaeology department of the government of Tamil Nadu, C Santhalingam, said the granite structure was weakening every passing year. “The distinct architectural features of the monument are fading away. Why shouldn’t the ASI have a science branch in Tamil Nadu for conserving a UNESCO-notified monument?” he said.
Chemical conservation has taken a back seat elsewhere as well. Chairman of Gangaikondacholapuram Development Council, R Komagan, said a thorium coating was not given to the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district for 15 years. “It is anti-fungal and a water repellent. The veemana of the 1,000-year-old temple has developed fungus, which could have been arrested had the authorities given the coat,” he said.
Poor coordination between different branches of ASI is hampering conservation work. When contacted, ASI superintending archaeologist for Chennai circle A M V Subramanyam said chemical conservation was carried out by the science branch which does not come under the purview of any ASI circle. “We are clueless about how many conservation activities they (science branch) have carried out in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Rajeswari Laxmi, ASI’s superintending archaeological chemist based in Hyderabad, under whose control conservation of monuments in the southern states are executed, and regional director south zone, ASI, M Nambirajan, could not reached for comments.