Sri Mangalambika VilasKumbakonamsince 1914
Degree coffee and the tiffin that goes with it
A coffee hotel of the old kind — filter, tumbler, davara, and no menu worth reading.
Chola Nadu · Eastern Coastal Plains
Shops and premises
The Swamimalai bronze foundriesSwamimalai
Lost-wax panchaloha icons made to Shilpa Shastra proportion
A cluster of family workshops rather than a shop. Commissions run to months, and the mould is broken for every single piece, so nothing on a shelf is a duplicate of anything else.
Poompuhar emporium, ThanjavurThanjavur
Thanjavur paintings, art plates, dolls and bronzes under one roof
The Tamil Nadu handicrafts corporation's own outlet. Useful mainly as a price and quality reference before you go looking in the workshops.
The Thanjavur veena workshopsThanjavur
Ekanda and sada Saraswathi veenas
A handful of families still make them. An ekanda instrument takes months and needs a jackwood log large enough to carve whole, which is now the binding constraint.
Narasingapettai nagaswaram makersNarasingapettai, near Kumbakonam
Concert-grade nagaswarams in aacha wood
One village supplying most of South India, working to a bore profile judged by ear.
Nachiarkoil lamp foundriesNachiarkoil
Brass and bell-metal kuthuvilakku
Cast, lathe-turned and threaded together, so a lamp can be dismantled for cleaning and re-assembled by hand.
The Kumbakonam betel and flower marketKumbakonam
Betel leaf, flowers and temple supplies at dawn
The trade that actually funds the temple economy, transacted before most visitors are awake.
Famous shops, markets and workshops in Chola Nadu, and what each is known for. (7)