It is the second anniversary of the launch of our first boardgame, Athangudi: Artisans of Chettinad! and as usual, we have to do something to celebrate!

Last year, we brought out the stunningly beautiful, fully handcrafted Athangudi: Collector's Edition. This year, we're stepping a little bit outside the realm of boardgames. 

Introducing Starry Night in Chettinad, a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle! You've definitely heard of Starry Night, Van Gogh's iconic painting of a nighttime view outside his window in France. We tried to re-imagine what it would have been like if he had been in a typical Chettinad village instead. In this Chettinad village on a festival night, we see architecture typical to the region - a tower with arches, handmade Athangudi tiles (does the pattern look familiar?), and palatial mansions with tiled roofs. In the background, is Thirumayam fort which played a significant role in the Polygar wars against the British East India Company.  A temple gopuram (tower) with a pond next to it, typical of villages in this region, can also be seen.

We are going to be honest here and admit this puzzle is no walk in the park. It does take a bit of time to solve it, especially the night sky! But the feeling of satisfaction after completing it is definitely enjoyable, sort of the feeling of satisfaction while you build a beautiful floor in our boardgame Athangudi, after trying to secure the best tiles!

The development of this jigsaw puzzle has taken aboout two months from start to finish, though the seed for this was sown a year ago, during the first anniversary of our Athangudi game.  The art that features in this puzzle has been illustrated by Mahalakshmi Somasundar, a freelance artist and architect based in Chennai. Check out her other work here.

Feel free to re-do the puzzle as many times as you want. But we think it might also look great, in a frame, hanging on your wall!