While in Chennai about a week ago, I visited a cultural center, somewhat like a living museum, about an hour outside the city. Dakshinchitra, the name of the display, means “picture of the South” – and it lives up to its name. In addition to being a window to the past, the center, supported by an NPO, supports local artists who set up small stalls on the premises, selling their crafts directly to the buyer, eliminating dealers and price-cranking middlemen. One such artist is Mr. V. Srinivasa Raghavan – a glass blower born and bred in Tamil Nadu.

While I at first felt that the blowtorch-wielding artist was out of place in the century-old surroundings of the compound, I was soon thinking back to my historical education, remembering that glass was being manipulated as far back as the Roman Empire. The means in this case justifies the ends – perhaps the trade’s tool efficiency has increased so dramatically that a trained artist couldn’t revert from 20th century technology even a few hundred years (although furnace and blowtorch techniques vary considerably). 

A brief conversation with him yielded some very basic information about his history – he had been educated in glassblowing for chemists’ appliances, but after some time in the industry began experimenting, and decided to steer towards artistry. As I looked at the small table covered in pieces he had made, I felt myself becoming more and more impressed – chariots, rowboats, Shivas and Ganeshas all made from the same 5mm glass rods in front of a blowtorch not six feet away.

I gladly accepted his offer of demonstrating the process – I watched in awe as he transformed two thin rods of hollow glass into a magnificently ornate perfume bottle in under fifteen minutes. As he placed what appeared to be a masterpiece on his worktable, he explained that it was somewhat shoddy work, and would need some touching up. I agreed to return within half an hour so I could see some of the other artists at work, and returned to find a beautifully crafted piece of art.