Egmore museum exhibits Marauri

CHENNAI: Ever wondered what material Lord Rama would have adorned in the forest after he was banished by his relatives for 14 years? Well, the Government Museum in Egmore has on display a material that finds mention in the Kamba Ramayanam. The museum authorities have put on display two crushed pieces of Upas Bark tree, which were used as clothes by the ancient Kani Tamil tribes in the Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts. According to M N Pushpa, Curator, Botany Section, Government Museum, the material exhibited is titled ‘Marauri’. Citing the reference in Kamba Ramayanam, 'Marauri tharithu vanam Aiygenan', she said, an ancient cloth material similar to the exhibit could have been used by Lord Rama. The material has been displayed as part of the ‘Exhibit of the Week’ programme. The botanical name for Upas Bark is Antiaris toxicaria Lesch, of which antiaris is derived from the Javanese language. The bark has a high concentration of tanin, which is used in traditional clothes, dyeing and paints. “Barks are used for various purposes among different tribes. For instance, it is used for hunting by the tribal community in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” she said, adding, “However,  it was the Kani tribes who discovered that Marauri can be used as garments."The inner bark of the Upas tree is crushed to fibre and then worn as waist garment. According to Pushpa, it is an excellent insect repellant. Even today, Kani tribes use it as their traditional wear and its design testifies the rich heritage of our ancient people.Antiaris tree is found in the grassy savanna and coastal plateaus. In India, it is found in the Western and the Eastern Ghats, apart from south and central Sahyadris. Acclaimed to be one of the tallest trees, it grows to more than 100 feet. In Javanese traditional medicine, the leaves and roots are used to treat mental illness, while in Africa and certain parts of Asia, the seeds, leaves and bark are used as an astringent.Commenting about the exhibition, SS Jawahar, Commissioner of Museums, said that the idea behind it was to showcase different objects acquired by the museum to the common man every week.