MANNIN MANDIRAM (MAGIC OF THE EARTH)
A photo and video documentary about the making of terracotta votive forms in Auroville, by Kripa
First, a photo exhibition showing the process of making the terracotta votive forms was held at Pitanga Cultural Centre, Samasti, Auroville from the 3rd April to the end of May 2026.
Then, we decided to make a video documentary to share the whole experience and talk about this traditional craft and Palanisamy’s work. This nine-minute video is now ready to share.
Let me share with you some background and a bit of a story to understand how all this came about:
Nearly twenty-five years ago, Palanisamy made a large terracotta horse at a workshop in Bharat Nivas. I came home and told my father, “Imagine one like that at the entrance of Sharnga!” A seed was planted, and it waited patiently. Over the years, I collected terracotta horses, elephants and sculpted heads from roadside vendors, always with that larger dream somewhere in the back of my mind.
When I heard Adil was collaborating with Palanisamy at Mandala Pottery, I asked Adil how to go about getting some pieces for Sharnga. He proposed that we ask Palanisamy to come for a residency and make them in Sharnga itself. So, I picked up the phone and talked to Palanisamy. His answer was immediate. “Yes, we should! Let’s organise it.” And soon, things unfolded with a simplicity that swept away all my apprehensions.
T. Palanisamy is a traditional terracotta artist hailing from the hinterland of south India, who can trace his lineage back over two centuries to when his family settled in a village in Pudukottai, making terracotta items – at times, votive, and otherwise functional. The open, horseshoe-shaped brick kiln, which is a part of this land, is known to be two centuries old. The clay he uses is from the local village pond, a reason, he says, his ancestors decided to settle here.
One and a half tons of clay and rice husk arrived from his village. Palanisamy and Kanan, his relative/assistant, came and lived with us for three weeks. Later, they were joined by Murugan for the building of the kiln and the firing. The whole process took around two months from December 2025 to February 2026.
Whenever any issues cropped up, Palanisamy’s systematic answer was: “Pannalam! Perachanai illai” (“Yes, it can be done, no problem!”). It was repeated as a mantra. When I remarked on his unfailing calm, he said, “Everything has its challenges, but when you say yes, the obstacles ease. Everything becomes lighter.” This is an attitude expressed in every piece now standing serenely in the garden, a quiet reminder of a beautiful lesson learnt in the presence of this man.
“Art is a living harmony and beauty that must be expressed in all the movements of existence. This manifestation of beauty and harmony is part of the Divine realization upon earth, perhaps even its greatest part” -The Mother, Questions and Answers
Terracotta is earth becoming form, form becoming art, and art returning, quietly, to the earth. A full cycle, witnessed here in our backyard in Auroville.
For me, the whole process was a healing one. It was grounding and empowering. There was something deeply satisfying and joyful in witnessing the transformation, creation and manifestation of beauty integrating all the elements.
“Beauty is the special Divine manifestation in the physical, as Truth is in the mind, Love is in the heart, Power in the vital. Beauty needs a manifestation to show itself.” -Sri Aurobindo, CWSA