Shore survivor:
The Shore Temple, just north of Mamallapuram is the oldest surviving stone-built temple in South India.
The temple is thought to be the sole survivor of a group destroyed by coastal erosion. The maritime environment has considerably eroded the elaborate carving over course of thirteen centuries.
On the map:
The town is promoted by India's National tourist office and the Tamil Nadu State Tourism organisation.
The differential prices for foreign tourists and local citizens indicates that this is a major tourist centre.
Continuity of craft:
The town contains numerous workshops offering modern products in traditional styles.
Architecture or sculpture?
The Pancha Pandava rathhas are seventh century monolithic temple buildings carved from solid bed rock.
The Government College of Architecture and Sculpture covers both views by providing four year degree courses in both Traditional Temple Architecture and Traditional Sculpture.
Active remembering:
Dakshina Chitra is a folk museum 18km north of Mamallapuram presenting relocated 18th, 19th and early 20th century houses and re-created village streets from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Visitors can try their hand at crafts demonstrated by workers from the many regions and villages of South India.
Banking on survival:
The nearby
Crocodile
Bank at Vadanemmeli is a conservation project for endangered varieties.
It also houses a cooperative venom collection centre where snake venom is
extracted from from key species for both anti-veneme and medical
applications.
The co-op does not maintain its own web-site, but the Bank
provides a URL for the
King
Cobra
Capturing tacit knowledge:
Members of the Irula tribe have redirected their skills in
capturing snakes for the export value of their skins.
Venom is extracted
once a week from four species. After a month the reptiles are released into the
wild.
Khor
and Lin (2002) have used this case in their book on sustainable employment
opportunities for indigenous communities.