In memory of his childhood, artist records sounds from a stone quarry in Madurai

There were around 400 families that solely depended on this livelihood. He closely observed the way in which labourers worked in the quarry — the sound and the labourers hard work had a huge impact on him. Years later, Saranraj visited the quarry and recorded the sound of labourers breaking the stone. He decided to do an audio installation titled Engal Vazhvu, Engal Isai-2019 (Our Lives, Our Music).

“I grew up listening to the sound of labourers breaking stones in the quarry near my house. There was a rhythm in that sound and as a young boy, I was excited to hear the sound. This created a huge impact on me. So, after completing my art studies, I wanted to do an audio project. I visited the quarry in my village and recorded the sound,” says Saranraj.

The youngster reminisces that workers arrived in the quarry every day at a particular time with lunch bags. The villagers worked under the scorching sun until evening without any complaints. “Despite all the hardships, the workers had unity — everyone used to share some interesting stories. During the break time, a few would be listening to MGR songs that played on the radio. On one side, you can hear the sound of drilling stones and on the other, a labourer would be seen splitting the stone with huge quarry tools. Women workers will be collecting small sills that are scattered here and there. The children of the labourers will be playing outside the quarry. I remember playing seven stones with my childhood friends. We also used to swim and catch fishes once our parents are done with their work. It was a different life back then,” recalls the artist.    

Saranraj will be exhibiting his audio installation at the second edition of Take Flight, curated by Perch, a theatre collective based in Chennai. “The number of people working in the quarry has come down to 50. The next generation has been carefully brought up with a little to no information about the work and the people who worked here before," he tells.