Facelift for murals in 50 Tamil Nadu temples

Chennai: The work on resurrecting the mutilated or faded mural paintings in about 50 temples across Tamil Nadu has begun with an expert panel in place to assess the extent of damage.

The committee comprising archaeological exp­erts and officials drawn from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endo­wments (HR & CE) depa­rtment will suggest ways and means to revive the murals, which are mostly painted on the walls or ceilings of the ancient temples using natural dyes.

Sources said the principal secretary of tourism and HR & CE R. Kannan, constituted an expert comprising Dr Rajesh­w­ari, deputy superintending archaeologist (che­mist), K. Moortheeswari deputy superintending archaeologist, Fort Mus­eum, Sri Latha Rao, assistant superintending arch­a­eologist (chemist) and Veeraraghavan, retired deputy superintending archaeologist (chemist).

HR & CE commissioner P. Dhanapal who is also in the team is closely monitoring the restoration work.

The loss of pigment owing to seepage of water from the roof; deposition of soot, dust, dirt, cement splashes due to human interference (when used as a godown, workplace for preparing paper and bamboo decorations for temple festivals, etc) are among the reasons for the loss of sheen on the murals.

Sources said that the conservation work would involve cleaning, removing the soot or microbial growth, consolidation of both the ground (lime plaster) and pigment layers, reattachment of the loosened plaster and reintegration.

All these steps would be taken keeping in mind the minimal intervention theory and adhering to the ethical conservation practices. “The restoration is time consuming and requires patience,” a senior official said and added that the assessment of the extent of damage in the ancient Sri Sthanumalayan temple in Suchindram in Kany­aku­mari district had begun. Soon they sport a better ambience.