The Story of India 4: Ages of Gold (14 of 18)

The Story of India

The model is then made in beeswax.
WOOD: Why beeswax?
Every civilisation has its idea about how God should be represented, but this Tamil version of God as a dancer is unique and wonderfully laden with symbols.
The drum that beats creation into existence, the fire which will destroy everything at the end, destroying the demon of ignorance.
Every part of the image which Sthapathy is constructing is loaded with meaning.
The casting of the bronze begins with a prayer.
Then the mould is slowly heated to melt the wax inside.
(SPEAKING TAMIL) You have to do things the way that it was always done.

You know, 21st century and modernity, but you still do things the way that they were always done.
This ancient craft is called the lost-wax process.
It 's easy to see why.
Then the mould is filled with a special mix of molten bronze.
The exact composition?
The secret of the bronze master.
What a way to make the most beautiful pieces of art.
His job is simply to do the pouring.
He hasn't been around all day, just came in to do the pouring.
Everybody has their own role in the task.
The bronze is left to cool for a day, and then the mould can be broken.
WOOD: This art was at its height a thousand years ago, in the hands of masters whose work has never been surpassed.
But today's craftsmen still work in their line, crafting images in the 21st century that go back to the deepest layers of the Indian tradition.
(SINGING) This is a particularly precious image because it's one of only two that survive of the 66 bronzes that Rajaraja the Great commissioned for the opening of the new temple here in Tanjore in 1010.
And from this place that image spread out over the whole of South India.
Even today it's synonymous with Tamil South Indian culture.