ILAKKIYA S
The
newly opened Virtual Retail (VR) mall located in the up-market neighbourhood of
Anna Nagar, stands different from most malls in Chennai. Its unique building design
incorporates features of ancient south Indian architecture. Starting from its
entrance, the walls, paintings and sculptures are aesthetically designed to
present our rich art, culture and history with a view to educate future generations.

The
kathai walk on day one was ably
conducted by historian Sriram V who explained all the tales of the Dasavataram
in a crisp manner within 45 minutes. The 10 manifestations of Lord Vishnu have
been beautifully portrayed at 10 different places in the mall in various forms
like sculptures, paintings, carvings and lights. The
participants of the walk were provided with a receiver and a guide. The walk started from the entrance of the
mall where Sriram launched his narration with the help of a mike and receivers.
Matsya,
the first avatar, was represented as a three-feet long catfish, laser-cut out
of a metal sheet and located in The Tamarai
Sadukkam — a small pond-like structure located at the entrance.
After narrating the tale of this particular avatar and explaining other
traditional designs in the mall such as the structure of the gopuram, the temple tank and the mahadeepam, the participants were escorted
to the place where two huge beautiful paintings depicting the churning of the
ocean of milk (paarkadal) were mounted
on opposite walls. One depicted the devas or gods holding one side of Vasuki the
snake while the opposite wall was full of the asuras or demons. The story of Kurma, the second avatar
of Lord Vishnu, was narrated here. The lights on the ceiling near the paintings
was of an aesthetic design with three colours — green, blue and gold to depict
the poison, water and nectar. The Kurma avatar or tortoise, carved out of green
stone, was placed along a water stream.

The
avatars of Lord Rama and Krishna are in the form of hand carved wall art, the
design inspired by the Ramaswamy temple
in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. The last two avatars of Buddha and Kalki are located in a separate
building with a quiet and peaceful ambience.
There is a seated sculpture of the
Buddha in his form of 'amoga siddhi'; and then, we come
across an
interpretation of the Kalki avatar designed with brilliant lights. There was a
300 kg “uloga bell” with all the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu carved on it, placed
on the side entrance of the mall — it
was a delightful sight!

By
including architectural references to temples in the form of questions and
answers, talking about their history and quoting examples from literature such
as Tiruvaimozhi, Nachiyar Tirumozhi, Silappadhikaram,
and Geeta Govindam, Sriram kept the entire
session alive and going.
Overall,
the walk was both educative and
entertaining. It concluded with a short music concert by students of Bombay
Jayashri, followed by refreshments. With
the increasing influence of pop culture in India, especially in places like
malls and movie theatres, such initiatives to remind us of our roots, must be
appreciated.
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