DakshinaChitra Muuem on ECR Muttukkadu The author and his family has been running an AMI Montessori school in Chennai for last 3 decades and have been collaborating with Madras Craft Foundation, to impart and teach our children in the age group of 6 to 12 , the art of Warli paintings and the art of pottery making for many years . This article is a tribute to our fruitful association that benefitted our school children immensely . Madras craft foundation opened on 14th of December 1996 a musuem named "DakshinaChitra " , meaning a musuem that reflects a picture of south India and is dedicated to south Indian heritage and culture . This musuem is located on the scenic ECR about 25 kms to the south of Chennai city . The MCF or Madras craft foundation was established in 1984.by Ms.Deborah Thiagarajan , an Indian art historian of American origin. The musuem  is built on 10 acres of land in Muttukadu , adjoining ECR that leads to Puducherry and is situated close to the Bay of Bengal . Tamil Nadu Government in order to promote art and culture of south India granted the land on lease for a period of 33-year . The musuem master plan was drawn up by none other than the famous architects Laurie Baker in association Benny Kuriakose . Initially this heritage musuem came into being with an array of displays and relocated originals of dwellings in south of India , that reflected the life style and culture of multi faceted groups of the people living in different parts of south India . The exhibits themselves offer insights into architecture ,life style , their art folk music & dances along with crafts made by them unique to that part of South India . The facilities in the musuem includes a research unit, crafts bazaar, playground, an area to hold religious and socoal functions, stone & terracotta pottery workshop, and souvenir kiosks.  In a sense the musuem offers a great learning experience to school children, who can watch their permanently employed craftsmen, at close quarters and this motivates them to learn the art through rehular workshops conducted by DhakshinChitra .Records show that each year, 15,000 school children visit the museum. Also MCF regularly helps artists to conduct workshops for public to train people in various crafts , by renting out their community studio. The inspiration and theme for this type of musuem can be traced to the roots of the open-air museums of Europe, the United States, Japan and Southeast Asia, though its closest precursor Is the National Handicraft and handloom in india's Capital city of New Delhi Musuem The curator Ms.Deborah Thiagarajan, as I understand, before she embarked on this museum ,was greatly influenced by old sturbridge village and Plimoth plantation of USA and unidentified sites in Japan and Romania. The theme of this musuem emphasises and focuses on pre-industrial technology and culture and to this end many materials were selectively borrowed from other existing museums. DakshinaChitra's exhibitions ,reflects the architectural ethos of Skansen , Greenfield Village of USA and the Weald and Down land musuem in England DakshinaChitra aims to represent the history and culture vaguely bounded by the period of British colonization of India . DakshinaChitra started with the construction of the three houses in Kerala section ie The Calicut house , The Puthupally house and The  Koothattu kulam house. Later, the main reception center, the stores, the gallery, the restaurant, guesthouses , Cheetinad type of house and Tanjore Agraharam type of house and other building came up later . The various small & other public buildings were then built slowly as funds were generated . DakshinaChitra boasts of a collection of over 14,000 books and journals on South Indian arts, crafts, performance, anthropology and folklore. The Library includes the National Folklore Support Centre's collections and also houses more than 1,00,000 photographs and a vast collection of DVD's, CD's and tapes. Some of the archives are of old journal collections such as Marg, India Magazine, Lalit Kala, Sangeet Natak as well as other journal collections such as South Asian Studies, Art India etc. They also house census reports on crafts, houses, festival and out-of-print books on crafts and arts. Clay Potters trained at the center are issued a certificate of their skills by the regional office of the Department of the Development Commissioner of Handicrafts.Govt of Tamil Nad .This skill development helps artisan to find gainful employment . Classical dances such as Bharatha Natyam ,Kerala Mohiniaattam ,Andhra Kuchipudi as well several music concerts are regularly held at the venue in their large amphitheater. This is a must visit place for anyone wanting to have a glimpse of south India in a day .!