22 generations of terracotta artistry

Terracotta horses, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terracotta_horses,_Sanskriti_Museum.JPGYesterday our friends Satheesh and Bade sent us to visit V.K. Munusamy, an artist who makes traditional terracotta statues and sculpture, including traditional Tamil village horses and guardians. These statues are a familiar sight to those who have visited rural Tamil villages, and the making of them is a very old tradition. In Munusamy’s family, it’s a tradition that goes back 22 generations.

Munusamy lives in Villianur, about 7 kilometers from Pondicherry. It’s a pleasant village that is also home to a large and interesting Shiva temple, where we stopped for a quick visit along the way.

 

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Our new place in Tiruvannamalai

Apartment - the street
The street where we live (for now).

After 10 lovely days in ashram accommodation, we moved today to an apartment we found about a week ago. We’ve arranged to rent it for the month of October, giving us plenty of time to continue what we’ve been doing: taking long walks, meditating at the Sri Ramanashramam, reading at the ashram library, making new friends and spending time at the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary & Rescue Shelter.

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