By Porter Lang
No kiln. No press. No glaze. An Athangudi tile is a cement tile that is poured, set, soaked and sunned, and its shine is borrowed from the surface it was cast on. If you are thinking of a floor, or just wondering why a Chettinad house looks the way it does, that one fact explains most of the rest.
Where and who
Outlook Traveller places Athangudi in Sivaganga district, in Tamil Nadu’s Chettinad region. It says many families in the village make the tiles and pass techniques and designs down through generations. The same piece says the work is slow because it is done by hand, and that it needs no electricity. It names green, blue, red and grey as the main colours.
How a tile is made
Two sources describe the steps, and they fit together.
DT Next, in a report dated 16 April 2022, says a metal stencil is placed on a clean piece of glass inside a mould. A slurry of grey and white cement, sand and colour is poured in, and the stencil is lifted out after a few minutes. The rest of the mould is filled with a dry mix of cement and sand and left for about a day. The tile is then cured by immersion in water for about 8 to 12 days and dried in rice husks in the sun. DT Next says oil in the husk gives a deep shine, and that the edges are smoothed last.
Outlook Traveller agrees on the glass: it says the tiles are made on glass plates, which gives a smooth, glossy finish, and that most artisans use templates while some draw freehand.
A guide published by Studio Matrx, which appears to be a commercial guide and not a neutral reference, adds details we could not match elsewhere. It gives a typical size of 8 by 8 inches (about 20 by 20 cm), roughly 20 to 25 mm thick, and says the pigment runs through the top layer, so the colour does not wear off the way a glaze can chip. It lists oxide pigments and river sand among the materials.
Our reading, with no source behind it: because the face is cast against glass, the gloss may need no polishing at all. The sources describe the glass and the gloss, not that conclusion.
Practical points, from one guide
Treat these as one source’s advice, not settled fact. The Studio Matrx guide says handmade tiles vary slightly in size, colour and line, and that this is normal. It advises ordering the whole floor at once because colour can shift between batches, ordering 10 to 15 per cent extra for cuts and breakage, bedding on a thick cement mortar so small thickness differences can be absorbed, and sealing after laying once the floor has fully cured, which it puts at roughly 21 to 28 days. It warns that polished tiles are slippery when wet and that cement is porous, so acidic cleaners and spilt turmeric or oil are a problem. We have no second source for any of this, and we have left out its price table.
How old is the craft?
The sources do not agree.
- Outlook Traveller: “over 500 years old”.
- Deccan Herald (updated 22 December 2023): a legacy of more than two centuries.
- Studio Matrx: made for over a century.
We show all three and pick none. Our reading: these may be counting different things, such as the village’s tile-making against cement tiles as a material, but none of the three says so.
Is there a GI tag?
Outlook Traveller says that in 2002 the makers applied for a Geographical Indication tag for Chettinad Athangudi tiles, also called Karaikudi tiles, through the Federation of Chettinad Athangudi Heritage Flooring Tiles Manufacturer Association, and does not say whether it was granted. DT Next, in April 2022, reports the tiles “may soon” get the tag and describes the application as still pending. We found no later source confirming a grant, so we do not say there is a tag. A buyer who wants to check should ask the maker, since we cannot confirm one.
Getting there
Outlook Traveller says Tiruchirapalli airport is about 70 km from Athangudi, Kottaiyur railway station about 6 km, and the Kanadukathan handloom centre about 15 minutes away. It gives no timetable, and we have not added one.
Dates in order
- 2002: GI application made, according to Outlook Traveller.
- 16 April 2022: report that the tag “may soon” be granted, according to DT Next.
- 22 December 2023: Deccan Herald feature last updated.
Side by side
DT Next and Studio Matrx both describe a stencil, coloured cement and water curing, though only DT Next gives the 8 to 12 day figure. Deccan Herald’s page says nothing about method.
What kind of sources these are
Outlook Traveller is a travel magazine. DT Next is a newspaper. Deccan Herald is a newspaper lifestyle feature. Studio Matrx is a guide that appears to be commercial. No museum, trade body or GI register entry was available to us.
What we left out
Prices, lead times, freight, workshop numbers, production volumes, and the name of the advocate who prepared the application.
Quick answers
How are Athangudi tiles made? According to DT Next, a stencil on glass takes coloured cement slurry, then a dry cement-sand fill, about 8 to 12 days of water curing and sun drying in rice husks.
Why are Athangudi tiles glossy? Outlook Traveller says they are made on glass plates, which gives a smooth, glossy finish. DT Next adds that oil in the rice husk gives a deep shine.
Do Athangudi tiles have a GI tag? Not confirmed. Outlook Traveller reports a 2002 application, and DT Next said in 2022 it was pending. We found nothing later.
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Roam first. Shop later.