{"id":4704,"date":"2021-09-12T11:46:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-12T06:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?p=4704"},"modified":"2021-09-12T19:29:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T13:59:48","slug":"leela-chanders-biryani-pot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/leela-chanders-biryani-pot\/","title":{"rendered":"Leela Chander\u2019s Biryani Pot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TEXT BY TISHARA RAJAGOPAL
PHOTOGRAPHS BY VIGNESH SIVAKUMAR
<\/strong>Chennai, Tamil Nadu<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brass cooking pot belonged to my maternal great-grandmother, Leela Chander, and its story was told to me by my grandmother, Sabita Radhakrishna. Referred to as a dekchi<\/em>, It is a wide-mouthed pot, that sits obediently in my grandmother’s drawing room. I\u2019ve walked past it countless times and traced my fingers across the fern that now grows wildly out of it, rarely looking down the repurposed planter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vessel operates in phases, just like the moon does. Some days it is a variegated grey, brown, green, and red \u2014 the permanent colour of the inside of the dekchi <\/em>and its rim. However, after a polish, it is a light, almost washed-out brassy colour. But when it catches the evening light, there\u2019s a bronze glow that emanates from it. The dekchi <\/em>will then spend the next few weeks darkening, regaining its patina. It has several concentric rings and notches that run along its body, and a noticeable joint, with a teeth-like pattern, along which the parts of the dekchi <\/em>were fused. The bottom, rough and uneven, has a fascinating set of orbits created by the firewood that would be used to prepare food. It moves from bronze to grey, green, and brown, on to an explosive black and red patina, and finally to brass. This pattern is also imprinted on the inside of the dekchi<\/em>. It is cool to the touch and surprisingly light when picked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n