The Tactile Appeal of Chola Bronze

I am looking forward to an illustrated talk in Delhi on February 6 by scholar Dr Vidya Dehejia on Chola bronzes in their social and material context.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

This is part of an ongoing series of talks at the India International Centre on Indian monuments. It is curated by eminent historian Dr Himanshu Prabha Ray, former director of the National Mission for Monuments. I was privileged to deliver a talk in this series on ‘Kamak-shi in Kanchipuram’ last November. Let me wickedly add that it’s refreshing that South India gets to be presented in Delhi.

This talk on Chola bronzes evokes several sentiments that are part and parcel of Indian identity, particularly Tamil identity. The talk is titled ‘The Thief Who Stole My Heart.’ This is the title of Dr Dehejia’s book from 2021, The Thief Who Stole My Heart—The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes from Chola India, 855–1280.

It is described as “the first book to situate the sacred and sensuous bronze statues from India’s Chola dynasty in a social context. From the 9th through 13th centuries, the Chola dynasty produced thousands of statues of Hindu deities, whose physical perfection was meant to reflect spiritual beauty and divine transcendence. During festivals, these bronze sculptures—including Shiva, referred to in a saintly vision as ‘the thief who stole my heart’—were adorned with jewels and flowers and paraded through towns as active participants in Chola worship.