Prof. T. Sanathanan is scheduled to present a TALK entitled “The Building of a ‘New’ Identity: Mandapams of Jaffna Temples” as part of the The Monthly Lecture Series No: 163 of the National Trust .… on Thursday 29th August 2024 at 6.00 pm [at the Auditorium of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, No. 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7 ….. This talk will be placed/presented online: …………………. https://youtube.com/live/JrXlC-GzWCU?feature=share
SYNOPSIS: Although the existing popular discourses on Hindu temple architecture in Sri Lanka assiduously link temple style with those South Indian or Dravidian, the Jaffna examples from the colonial era exemplify a rupture. In the last thirty years villu mandapams or curvature ceiling halls became the desired popular form. The emergence of this local style coincides with the sweeping changes in the social fabric ignited by civil war, the displacements, the formation of a Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, the Sanskritization of temple rituals, and the availability of new building materials and technologies. The villu madapams produced through fragmentation, collage, copy and fusion of different style and elements, questions the popular belief associating the Dravidian style with Tamil Identity in architecture. This lecture maps the cultural history and visual idiom of contemporary popular temple architecture with special reference to villu mandapams, and portrays Jaffna temple architecture as an eclectic mix integrating colonial, vernacular and South Indian architectural elements, architectural imaginations and memories from popular theatre and cinema. The lecture makes a case that this extravagant architecture is an attempt to make the ordinary, common, low cost , impermanent architecture of occasional use, to produce a permanent visual grandeur and festivity.
NOTE:For those who wish to join online: go to …………….. https://youtube.com/live/JrXlC-GzWCU?feature=share
Thamotharampillai Sanathanan is a visual artist and a professor of Art History, Department of Fine Arts, and University of Jaffna. He also a co funder of Sri Lankan Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture and Design and the founder of Kolam craft initiative.
Villu Mandapams are typically open-air pavilions with pillars and a roof. They are often intricately carved and designed in line with the Dravidian architectural style, which is prominent in Tamil Nadu temples. They are usually situated within or near the temple complex. The mandapam provides a designated space for performances that can be easily accessed by devotees and festival attendees. Villu Paatu is a narrative form of entertainment that combines music, storytelling, and drama. The stories often revolve around religious themes, historical events, or moral tales, making Villu Mandapams an important cultural and spiritual space. These mandapams serve as a gathering spot for the community, where people come together to listen to stories, enjoy the music, and participate in the cultural life of the temple.
VERY USEFUL, Amarasiri …. especially for us lay people unfamiliar with this type of terrain