Marble-like chûnnam in the 18th- and 19th-century Madras Presidency

Lime (calcined limestone), referred as çûnam and çûṇṇam ('chûnnam') was used in the Indian subcontinent for ages.In the Tamizh country, lime was referred as çûṇṇāmpu.The nature and quality chûnnam used in the Madras presidency are formally recorded in various published reports by the British either living in or visiting Madras from the 18th century.All of them consistently remark that the quality of chûnnam used in building human residences and other buildings was of superior quality than that used for the same purpose elsewhere in India.The limestone for making chûnnam was extracted from (i) inland quarries and (ii) beached seashells.The latter was deemed of superior quality.In the Tamizh country in particular, a few other biological materials were added to lime mortar to achieve quicker and better hardening.In the Madras presidency, builders and bricklayers, used to add jaggery solution, egg albumin, clarified butter, and freshly curdled yoghurt, and talc schist (balapong) to the lime mortar.Many of the contemporary construction engineers and architects are presently loudly talking on the validity and usefulness of using lime mortar, embellished with plant fibres and plant extracts, supplemented by traditional practice of grinding.