DakshinaChitra is a very beautiful place and cultural living museum of art and craft of South India and its located on the East Coast Road at Muttukadu 21 kms South of Chennai It’s a ten acre campus and is divided into four segments which is covering four prominent states of South India – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. Landmark is next to MGM Dizee World with the effort of Madras Craft Foundation a non-profit NGO its started in December 1996. Visiting hours are 10AM to 6 PM. Tuesday is holiday and the entrance fee for Adults – Rs 75/- , Child – Rs 20/- ; Student – Rs 30/- ; It takes minimum of one hour to visit the entire tour of DhakshinaChitra. It shows the culture of our South India and the architecture of our South India, it show the houses in district wise Brahmin House, Merchant House, Potter’s House, Chettiyar’s House, Karaikudi House and Kerala house etc., It contains 17 heritage houses. 
Artisians and folk performing artists have an important role play in DakshinaChitra, craft promotion and craft development is the major goal of DhakshanChitra. Four Different mediums like painting, print making, ceramic and stone carving by four organization.
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh consists of three district region Rayalseema, Telangana and Coastal Andhra. The Rayalseema area is part of the Deccan plateau and for the most part consists of dry and stony land. Cuddapah, a black slate used for flooring, shelving and even roofing, derives its name from the town of Cuddapah from where it is mined. Stone and mud are the main building materials in this area. Thatch is the most prevalent roofing material.
The Nizam’s region or Telangana comprises of Adilabad, Nalgonda, Warangal, Medak, Mahboobnagar, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Bidar. The Muslim rule of the kingdoms here had a major influence on the architectural forms. The most elegant Muslim homes and cenotaphs are characterized by beautiful, intricate, stone-cut screens, delicate fluted arches and fine stucco work.
Agricultural communities built with the materials at hand in simple forms, which are convenient to their lifestyles, for the protection of their livestock, for storage and for security. The skills of the builders and crafts people are evidenced in the meticulous workmanship of stone buildings.
Coastal Andhra consists of Nellore, Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari, Khammam, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts. Many architectural forms in these areas exemplify the cross migration of the people from coastal Andhra and Tamil Nadu.
Kerala Section
Kerala is blessed with abundant water, verdant forests and rich lands. Unlike the Tamilian, the Keralite prefers to live isolated from neighbours in the middle of a plot of land, with privacy and beautiful tropical vegetation. In Kerala houses, technique, form and materials are basically the same for all classes and economic levels. Only size or the addition of more buildings to a compound separate the rich from the poor.
Within Kerala, there is a clear division of style of architecture between Malabar in northern Kerala and Travancore in southern Kerala. Just north of Cochin, extending all the way up north, are large deposits of laterite. These are used throughout the Malabar region for the walls and foundations of both houses and temples. This enabled the Keralite to build double storeyed homes with the sloped roof in North Kerala. In southern Kerala, wood was the primary building material and homes remained primarily single-storeyed until the end of the 19th century.
Karnataka Section
The architecture of Karnataka is as varied as its geography, with its verdant coastal areas to the west; the richly wooded hills of Chikmagalore and Shimoga; the bamboo forests and plantations of Coorg; the fertile farm land of the south, the semi-arid zones of the east and central districts and the vast stony, dry areas of the north. The name of one of the main districts, Gulbarga, is said to have come from kalbargi, which means ‘stony land’ or a ‘heap of stones’. Where the Deccan plateau joins the Nilgiris in the southwestern region of the state, timber is in abundance.
Tamil Nadu Section
Tamil Nadu has a long sandy seacoast and a vast expanse of semi-arid plains, once covered with scrub forests, grass and groves of bamboo. Water was scarce and wells per village were few in number. Families clustered together, to be close to each other and to the sources of water. Wood was never in abundance, but was used for columns and beams. Rafters and reapers were usually of bamboo. The pride of each house was the front door and this was carved and decorated to be as welcoming and auspicious as could be. Trees were felled from nearby, preferably from the house owner’s own compound. The village set rules where trees could and could not be felled.
The carpenters made the bullock carts and the ploughs and all that was necessary for agriculture and house building in the village. They were helped by the blacksmiths who made the hinges and the nails, the locks for the doors and the special fixtures for the carts. The potters made the terracotta roofing tiles. Floors were most often made of rammed mud, finished with a red oxide coating or cow dung slurry. Walls were made of sun-dried or baked brick or mud which were also regularly treated with a cow dung slurry, which kept the bugs away with its antiseptic properties.
Artisians and folk performing artists have an important role play in DakshinaChitra, craft promotion and craft development is the major goal of DhakshanChitra. Four Different mediums like painting, print making, ceramic and stone carving by four organization.
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh consists of three district region Rayalseema, Telangana and Coastal Andhra. The Rayalseema area is part of the Deccan plateau and for the most part consists of dry and stony land. Cuddapah, a black slate used for flooring, shelving and even roofing, derives its name from the town of Cuddapah from where it is mined. Stone and mud are the main building materials in this area. Thatch is the most prevalent roofing material.
The Nizam’s region or Telangana comprises of Adilabad, Nalgonda, Warangal, Medak, Mahboobnagar, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Bidar. The Muslim rule of the kingdoms here had a major influence on the architectural forms. The most elegant Muslim homes and cenotaphs are characterized by beautiful, intricate, stone-cut screens, delicate fluted arches and fine stucco work.
Agricultural communities built with the materials at hand in simple forms, which are convenient to their lifestyles, for the protection of their livestock, for storage and for security. The skills of the builders and crafts people are evidenced in the meticulous workmanship of stone buildings.
Coastal Andhra consists of Nellore, Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari, Khammam, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts. Many architectural forms in these areas exemplify the cross migration of the people from coastal Andhra and Tamil Nadu.
Kerala Section
Kerala is blessed with abundant water, verdant forests and rich lands. Unlike the Tamilian, the Keralite prefers to live isolated from neighbours in the middle of a plot of land, with privacy and beautiful tropical vegetation. In Kerala houses, technique, form and materials are basically the same for all classes and economic levels. Only size or the addition of more buildings to a compound separate the rich from the poor.
Within Kerala, there is a clear division of style of architecture between Malabar in northern Kerala and Travancore in southern Kerala. Just north of Cochin, extending all the way up north, are large deposits of laterite. These are used throughout the Malabar region for the walls and foundations of both houses and temples. This enabled the Keralite to build double storeyed homes with the sloped roof in North Kerala. In southern Kerala, wood was the primary building material and homes remained primarily single-storeyed until the end of the 19th century.
Karnataka Section
The architecture of Karnataka is as varied as its geography, with its verdant coastal areas to the west; the richly wooded hills of Chikmagalore and Shimoga; the bamboo forests and plantations of Coorg; the fertile farm land of the south, the semi-arid zones of the east and central districts and the vast stony, dry areas of the north. The name of one of the main districts, Gulbarga, is said to have come from kalbargi, which means ‘stony land’ or a ‘heap of stones’. Where the Deccan plateau joins the Nilgiris in the southwestern region of the state, timber is in abundance.
Tamil Nadu Section
Tamil Nadu has a long sandy seacoast and a vast expanse of semi-arid plains, once covered with scrub forests, grass and groves of bamboo. Water was scarce and wells per village were few in number. Families clustered together, to be close to each other and to the sources of water. Wood was never in abundance, but was used for columns and beams. Rafters and reapers were usually of bamboo. The pride of each house was the front door and this was carved and decorated to be as welcoming and auspicious as could be. Trees were felled from nearby, preferably from the house owner’s own compound. The village set rules where trees could and could not be felled.
The carpenters made the bullock carts and the ploughs and all that was necessary for agriculture and house building in the village. They were helped by the blacksmiths who made the hinges and the nails, the locks for the doors and the special fixtures for the carts. The potters made the terracotta roofing tiles. Floors were most often made of rammed mud, finished with a red oxide coating or cow dung slurry. Walls were made of sun-dried or baked brick or mud which were also regularly treated with a cow dung slurry, which kept the bugs away with its antiseptic properties.
