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The first thing that strikes you about 81-year old Lilly Vijayaraghavan is her zest for life. As she excitedly tells tales of the various antiques and artefacts collected by her over four decades, you can’t help but marvel at her enthusiasm. “Art is in my genes. I can search for beautiful things even from rubbish heaps,” says the matriarch of the TVS family. T.V. Sundaram Iyengar, the founder of the TVS group, was her husband Vijayaraghavan’s maternal grandfather. She credits her love for all things artistic and beautiful to her own grandfather, S.T. Srinivasagopalachari, a famous lawyer and collector of stone and bronze statues. While she has inherited some pieces from him, most of his collection was donated to museums including the National Museum in New Delhi. As part of the Captivating Chennai tours organised by Taj Coromandel in association with Apparao Galleries to provide its guests an insight into some of Chennai’s best kept secrets, I find myself one sunny afternoon at Lilly’s house. Actually calling it a house would be a mistake. The structure houses more antiques and collectibles than many museums. HERITAGE DISPLAY: Stuccos such as these often adorned the parapet walls of old homes in the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu“My house is often referred to as a home museum,” says Lilly as she points to a turtle at the base of a 12-foot-tall iron lamp that adorns her garden. “The turtle is an avatar of Lord Vishnu. The lamp was used during ceremonies in temples,” explains Lilly. Just beyond it is a massive brass lamp, Lilly’s latest acquisition that she bought from a dealer in Kerala. “Lamps are my favourite. I have them in all sizes — big and small — bought mostly from Kerala and interior Tamil Nadu.While her garden has a smattering of stone statues and metal lamps, too big to be accommodated inside her house, the house itself has a vast collection of sculptures, stuccos, wooden panels, kitchen vessels, Tanjore paintings, bronze and brass statues... the list is endless. “I am particularly interested in objects of daily use, and sringara,” she says, as I admire a metal spoon holder, given as part of a Chettiyar bride’s trousseau. “These things were used as part of daily life and also during religious ceremonies. They were lovingly handed down over generations. It is only over the past few decades that valuable artefacts have been melted or simply thrown away.”Sringara (the art of adornment) as a concept is very close to Lilly’s heart. There are shelves upon shelves displaying metal foot scrubbers adorned with peacocks and swans, sculpted ivory combs, silver kajal holders, perfume bottles, back scratchers, scissors, attar containers and so much more. “Most of these sringara items I collected from North India. The women there were more beauty conscious while the women of South India were naturally beautiful,” she chuckles.Decorative art objects also find pride of place in her home. One of her favourite pieces is a stucco courtesan that once adorned the parapet wall of an old Chettinad home. “Homes in the Chettinad region were often decorated with stuccos of beautiful women, animals and other figures. Now that those homes are being demolished these stuccos either find their way to artefact dealers or are often left lying around in a pile of construction debris,” says Lilly. As I take a closer look at the beautiful damsel, I can’t help but admire the incredible workmanship that has gone into arranging her jewellery and hair. Through the lilt of her head and slight smile, the artist has made the stucco come alive. “This is part of our heritage, our culture and it is all getting destroyed,” says Lilly remorsefully. MYTHICAL WONDER: This wooden Kamdhenu is in almost perfect condition with traces of red vegetable dye still visibleSo did her husband share her passion for collecting? Not really. “He kept threatening to throw everything away. But if anyone ever admired the collection, he was quick to take credit,” she reminisces fondly.Her biggest supporter was her mother. “My father did not approve of me going alone searching for artefacts. So my mother accompanied me on most of my expeditions,” smiles Lilly. Incidentally, her mother is 98 years old and still very sharp. As I enquire a bit more about South Indian culture, Lilly takes it upon herself to educate me. She hands me something called a meditation mirror. Found mostly in Nambudri homes, the artefact doesn’t actually have a looking glass. “It’s not an actual mirror in the sense it does not throw back your reflection. But it is an aid to meditation. You close your eyes and reflect on your inner self to find answers,” explains Lilly.As I look around, my eyes fall upon a collection of metal breast plates. “They are used by Theyyam dancers,” says Lilly. Theyyam is a ritual dance of north Kerala that incorporates dance, mime and music. Worship of Bhagwathi or the Mother Goddesses is an important part of Theyyam. The male dancers perform in full make up and costume including a breast plate in front of Bhagwathi’s shrine. During the dance, they are supposed to metamorphose into the deity herself; therefore they wear female breast plates.On the walls of Lilly’s house, hang some of the most beautiful Tanjore and Mysore paintings. These are old pieces made using gold leaf, vegetable dyes and semi-precious stones. While Tanjore paintings continue to be popular today, they are made using gold leaf, poster colours and plastic stones. Moreover, since they are replicas of old paintings, the artists mostly trace the figures of the deities. Lilly has no patience for the new stuff. “Artists didn’t trace in olden days. They would face east, recite shlokas and then see the image in their dreams. Only then would they execute the painting. There was divinity in art,” she says.Lilly believes that most of her collectibles radiate a positive energy that engulfs her. “A large number of the things I surround myself with were used for religious ceremonies. I can feel the positive energy emitting from them.” So is that what keeps her going, I ask. “That, and also my passion. My passion keeps my alive and active. I haven’t stopped collecting,” she smiles. DELECTABLE COLLECTIBLES: Lilly's collection of decorative art objects and antiques gives an insight into South Indian culture and heritage(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 29-06-2015)
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As we walk towards Aaswad, a small restaurant right opposite the Shiv Sena headquarters in Dadar, Mumbai, the first thing that strikes me is the long queue of hungry Mumbaikars waiting outside for a table. “If you serve good, honest food, people will come back for more,” says Ranveer Brar, host of various TV shows such as Snack Attack and The Great Indian Rasoi on Zee TV and judge on Masterchef India. It’s on his recommendation that we are dining at Aaswad, a restaurant that he loves for its traditional Marathi cuisine and homely flavours.
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