Etched in stone to tell a story of the past and the present. Place it in the garden or in the house, it fits in right away!
Durgi stone craft
Durgi is a village in the Guntur district which is famous for its soft grey stonecraft. It was discovered by the Buddhist monks 600 years ago. Temples, figurettes, decorative pieces, and Buddhist stupas were carved in earlier times, the relics of which can be seen in the museums at Nagarjunakonda near Hyderabad and Amaravati in the Guntur district. Presently 20 craftsmen are practicing and have a cooperative society.
The durgi stone carving has more distinct features and is in demand by other states for training purposes.
Lepakshi is one of their marketing partners. The village too has a sales outlet. Customers can also order as per their choice.
Senior renowned craftspersons are Sri Narasimhacharulu, Sri Venkateswarulu, and contemporary artisan Sri Veera Brahmachari.
Artisan’s name and number:
Veera Brahmachari
9502393850
Narasaraopet stone craft – breathing life into the stone
Driving to Narsaraopet one comes across this vast expanse of chilly fields and as the destination approaches, huge rocks, and stones are found strewn across this dusty landscape. Narasaraopet is a town in Guntur district and 12 kms from the famous temple of Kottappa Konda. This town has become famous for its stone carving which traces its history to their guru Vishwakarma who is said to be the first shilpakar since the beginning of kaliyuga. Amidst all the stones and dusty roads is the man Shankar who is steeped in his craft, culture and traditions.
Sculptor Shankar who is associated with the Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh since 2018, says that his father, Kotamasu Bala Sunder Prasad, was among the first batch of students, to take the four year course at Tirupati Devasthanams Shilpa Kalasala (S.V. Institute of Traditional Sculpture and Architecture) in 1963. Sculptors are also trained in ‘Vastu’ and ‘Astrology’ as part of the course. Most of their carvings were for temples, Gopurams etc.
Earlier the work was done by hand, hence, 300 people were trained and employed but now with some mechanisation, Shankar employs only 30 and having started from sculpting deities for temples, he moved to carve out garden accessories like stone lanterns, urlis, birds and so on to cater to the present day clientele which keeps him busy. Their work is limited to 6 months in a year and there are about 500 families practising this art presently.
Shankar, who was trained by his father, would advise him to know about the character of his subject, before attempting to sculpt, only then would the true features come alive in his work. The raw material granite is procured from the government quarries of Gangadevipalli.
In 2018, under the AP government’s urban beautification initiative, four stone sculptures were installed in the road meridian near Ramavarappadu centre, Vijayawada, by members of CCAP. The sculptures were a bench, three women in yoga poses, a lotus mural, and a boy looking from behind a pillar. It took Shankar 6 months to complete sculpting and a week for ccap members to install them.
It is interesting to know how they stay healthy while working in a dust-filled environment. They believe eating jaggery removes the dust! So they eat peanuts with jaggery on returning home.
Nandyal in Kurnool district and Tirupati in Chittoor district too are famous for their stone craft. Some of the other stones found here are the yellow sandstone and black stone.
Artisan’s name and number:
Shankar K
9440508411
