PROUD MOMENT: Head mason S. Paramasivam stands before the intricate woodwork panels in the Senate House. — Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: For the 65-year-old S. Paramasivam, the Senate House of the University of Madras is almost like home.

Not surprising, as Mr. Paramasivam, head mason for the Senate House restoration project, has spent most of his waking hours in the historic building during the last two-and-half years.

Though the polished balcony railings and imaginative stained glass windows have become a familiar sight, the head mason holds a reverence for the building.

As he shows the Sgraffito art (murals), his voice, with just a quiver of excitement, reveals the fact that he loved the challenge of restoring the hall.

"I had to think back 30 years. I talked to my father's old friends who knew many forgotten techniques," he says.

The head mason, who lives in rented quarters at Aminjikarai, hails from Yelayiram Pannai, a village near Kovilpatti.

His sons Thangapandi and Kalaipandi also work with him. Mr. Paramasivam began learning construction and renovation from his father Sangaiah Thevar. "I have learnt only up to class six but I know whatever is to be known in this trade." He built church steeples and temple towers, before turning his attention to artistic construction in the last 10 years.

The restoration of the Senate House, his biggest project to date, required his constant guidance to other workers. "I would show them the right way to apply a coat of plaster. The plaster would crack if not applied correctly."

Mr. Paramasivam is proud that much of the materials and many of the workers for the project are from the southern districts. Some of the limestone was sourced from Kazhugumalai and coloured stones from a quarry near Madurai. Workers came from Vilathikulam and Satur.

The head mason said the architects and workers tried out interesting experiments to get the original effect. Seven coats of plaster were required for the walls.

"In one of the coats, we used a mixture of egg white and whey [watery part of curdled milk]. For a 10 feet by 10 feet portion of the wall, 15 eggs and a litre of milk was required," he says.

Worrying moments

There were worrying moments too. "When I was returning from Madurai with samples of yellow and red stone, a passenger offered me a cup of tea. Little did I know that I would wake up in a daze to find my money and a gold ring missing," he recalls. But the stones were safe; the thief had not cared for them.

Mr. Paramasivam is looking forward to September 4, when President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will declare open the hall.

"Even the women at home in the village are excited though they have not seen the building," he says.

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