Sculpted Stones review: An engaging tour of Mamallapuram’s rich heritage

Prabhu is an educator whose work with teachers and children sits at the intersection of history, art, literature, and philosophy. With this interdisciplinary approach, he ventures to bring alive the “small, sandy, seaside town” called Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Tamil Nadu, roughly 50 km south of Chennai.

The heritage structures that can be seen in Mamallapuram are dated back to a time between the late sixth and early eighth centuries CE. “They tell the fascinating story of how sculpting in stone blossomed and grew in this region as temples and other monuments were being built,” notes Prabhu. He shows how it is possible to make sense of artefacts by observing and listening to them, asking questions, and trying to construct logical answers to these questions. In a way, this is akin to detective work as remains of the past have stories hidden inside them.

Imparting a style of engagement

Reading this book feels like going on a heritage trail with the author. The clear and accessible writing is accompanied by Nithya V’s photographs of cave temples, monolithic temples, structural temples and relief sculptures that capture the tiniest of visual details. Prabhu writes, “The miraculous fact is that these pieces of craftsmanship in Mamallapuram have lasted for nearly 1,400 years despite continuous exposure to elements of nature — wind, water, sand and sun. Add to this, acts of vandalism and graffiti, both old and new, all across the town.”

Prabhu encourages the reader to reflect on questions that they might typically not think much about on an outing to such a place of historical significance. Why did sculptors in South India use granite, unlike sculptors in Western India who worked with soapstone? What do garments and ornaments worn by figures in stone say about their social status? How did artisans work with massive blocks of stone before the invention of power drills and electric saws?

Sculpted Stones is published by Tulika Books — known for bringing out books for children and young adults — as part of their Looking at Art series. What makes the book exciting is the author’s approach. He is not looking to pile up information for the reader to take in and regurgitate. He is keen to impart a style of engagement with art and architecture that would stay with the reader after this book has been put away. He trains the reader in seeing “attentively, patiently, curiously” — a skill often undervalued but transferable across contexts.

A workshop for sculptors?

Prabhu conveys to the reader that knowledge creation can be based on weighing various possibilities and making informed conjectures rather than pursuing absolute certainty. He writes, for instance, about questions that art historians have no definitive answers to. “What was Mamallapuram? A trading port? A capital city of the Pallava dynasty? An open-air art gallery?” Since many of the monuments are unfinished, he asks, “Could Mamallapuram have been a workshop for sculptors to hone their skills, experiment and learn from the masters?”

Intellectual humility is rarely taught at the school level because adults are reluctant to admit that they are clueless about a lot of things. This book puts forth the idea that our conclusions must be backed by evidence and reasoning. It communicates how valuable it is to accept that what we know about something is subject to change based on availability of new information. It also shows how the same evidence can lead to entirely different conclusions based on how it is examined, and how there are times when both conclusions might seem equally enticing.

Prabhu shows the reader how to draw from a variety of knowledge sources — literature, geography, mythology, art history, and science — to deepen critical inquiry. Thankfully, in the lives that we lead outside of school timetables, subjects do not have to exist in strict isolation. The beautiful drawings by Arikta Vernekar that are part of this book might inspire readers to pause and sketch when they visit Mamallapuram or any other place with magnificent ruins.

A resource for history and art teachers

Prabhu believes in experiential learning, which is more fun than being a passive learner. While the book can be read independently by readers who are 10 and above, it would also make a wonderful resource for history and art teachers to use in their classrooms. Schools taking their students on excursions to Mamallapuram would benefit hugely from this book, and so would parents who are eager to incorporate art appreciation into their family picnics.

Those who love animals are in for a special treat as the book zooms in on and discusses sculptural elements like a deer with an itchy nose, an elephant drinking water from a stream, a lioness suckling her cubs, a tortoise taking shelter in a crevice, a monkey checking another monkey’s head for lice, a cat mimicking a tapasvin immersed in penance, a monitor lizard slithering towards its food, a cow caressing her calf, a boar diving into water, and much else.

Prabhu writes, “The story goes that Indira Gandhi visited Mamallapuram once when she was Prime Minister, and was so entranced by this image of the deer scratching its nose that she asked for it to be incorporated into the design of the ten-rupee note in the 1980s.” There is so much to love about this book that one can go on about what makes it special.