Mangalore tiles are a type of tiles native to the city of Mangalore

Mangalore

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The tiles were first introduced to India in 1860 by a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 missionary. Since then the industry flourished in India. These red tiles, prepared from hard laterite

Laterite

Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...

 clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

, are in great demand throughout India, Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, and the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 and are even shipped to East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. These were the only tiles to be recommended for government buildings in India during the British regime

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

.

These tiles still define Mangalore's skyline

Skyline

A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...

 and characterize its urban

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

 setting. They are a popular form of roofing and are preferred over concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 due to their good quality.

Etmology

These tiles are native to Mangalore

Mangalore

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

, a city in the former South Canara

South Canara

South Canara was a district under the British empire, located at . It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district...

 district on the western coast of India

Geography of India

The geography of India describes the physical features of India, a country in South Asia, that lies entirely on the Indian Plate in the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. The country lies to the north of the equator between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east...

. Hence they were named Mangalore tiles by the tile factory manufacturers.

History

A German missionary Plebot

Plebot

Plebot was a German missionary that established one of the first tile making factories known as Basel Mission tile factory in 1860, after they found large deposits of clay by the banks Gurupura and Nethravathi rivers. It was located near Morgan's Gate on the banks of the river Nethravathi....

 set up the first tile factory at Mangalore in 1860, after they found large deposits of clay by the banks of the Gurupura

Gurupura River

The Gurupura river or Phalguni River or sometimes Kulur river has its origins in the Western Ghats, which drains its itself in the Arabian Sea at Mangalore.The New Mangalore port NMPT) and Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers is situated at the northern banks of Phalguni river...

 (also Phalguni) and Nethravathi

Nethravathi River

The Netravati River has its origins at Gangamoola in Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, India. This river flows through the famous pilgrimage place Dharmasthala and considered as one of the Holy rivers of India...

 (also Buntwal) rivers. It was called Basel Mission tile factory

Basel Mission tile factory

Basel Mission tile factory ran by the German missionary Plebot, was the first Mangalore tile manufacturing factory to be set up in India in 1860 on bank of the Nethravathi river near Morgan's Gate, about 10 km from the Ullal bridge....

, and was the first ever tile factory in India, located on the banks of the Nethravathi river, near Morgan's Gate

Morgan's Gate

Morgan' Gate is a suburb in the city of Mangalore, India. The suburb hosts Dakshina Kannada district's only full-fledged cricket stadium, the Mangala Stadium also known as Morgan's Gate cricket stadium....

, around 100 metre (0.1 km) away from Ullal

Ullal

Ullāḷ is a panchayat town in Dakshina Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a small town about 8–10 km south of Mangalore close to the border between the two southern states of Karnataka and Kerala. It comprises two revenue villages, Ullal and Parmannur, in Mangalore Taluk...

 bridge. Currently Mphasis, An HP company has been established in this area.

Several other tile factories came up in the years that followed. In 1868, the Albuquerque tile factory

Albuquerque tile factory

Albuquerque tile factory is a tile factory located at Pani-Mangalore in Mangalore. It is the only tile factory whose tiles are recommended for Government buildings.-History:...

 producing these tiles was started by Mr.Pascal Albuquerque at Pane mangalore

Pane mangalore

Pane mangalore is a village on the banks of Netravati river near B.C.Road. It lies in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.The National Highway-48 passes through this village.-External links:**...

 in South Canara. These were the only tiles to be recommended for Government buildings in India during the British regime. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...

, a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 is also topped with these tiles due to their excellent quality and were preferred over Bombay tiles by the structure's architect Frederick William Stevens

Frederick William Stevens

Frederick William Stevens was an English architectural engineer who worked for the British colonial government in India. Stevens' most notable design was the railway station Victoria Terminus in Bombay...

.

Since the opening of the Albuquerque tile factory, Mangaloreans

Mangaloreans

Mangaloreans are generally considered to be a collection of ethnic group from the South Canara district on the south western coast of India. It can also refer to residents of Mangalore.-History:Historically, Tulu Nadu included the two separate lands of Haiva and Tuluva...

 have been actively involved in manufacturing these red Mangalore tiles. In 1878, followed the Alvares tile factory

Alvares tile factory

Alvares tile factory is a Mangalore tile factory located at in Mangalore. The tiles produced by this factory were in great demand throughout the Indian subcontinent and East Africa....

 established by Mr.Simon Alvares of Bombay

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

 at Mangalore. The tiles produced by the factory were in great demand throughout the Indian subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

 and East Africa. Abundant deposits of clay, plenty of firewood from the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

 and cheap skilled labour helped the industry flourish. By the 1900s there were around 25 tile factories situated in and around Mangalore. By 1994 around 75 tile factories were present in Mangalore. As per the years 1991—1992 out of a selected 12 tile factories, 6 were owned by Hindus and the other 6 by Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s. The factories along with these tiles also manufactured materials such as ridges

Ridge (geometry)

In geometry, a ridge is an -dimensional element of an n-dimensional polytope. It is also sometimes called a subfacet for having one lower dimension than a facet.By dimension, this corresponds to:*a vertex of a polygon;...

, limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 and brick

Brick

A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...

s.

In 2007, the industry suffered a loss with about 10 tile factories shutting down due to scarcity of raw materials like clay. and as factories struggled to find skilled and cooperative workers.

Quality and Usage

They provide excellent ventilation especially during summer and aesthetically as well. Some of them are especially made to be placed over kitchen and bathroom for the smoke to escape. Over a period of time, these tiles become dark to black from constant exposure to soot

Soot

Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...

 and smoke. These red colored clay tiles, unique in shape and size are so famous and export to all the corners of world. They are unique and are made or available in different size and shapes depending on the users need.

These tiles are not only eco-friendly but also cheap, durable and costs only one third that of cement. Some of the buildings which are 100 yrs old still have tile roofing.These tiles are suited for regions experiencing heavy rainfall as water drains easily and fast. The Mangalore tiles are generally placed at forty five degree slant. The tiles get their robust red colour due to the high proportion of iron compound found in the laterite clay. A tile weighs about 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) to 3 kilograms (6.6 lb). These kind of tiles are most popularly used in Canara

Kanara

The Kanara or Canara region comprises three coastal districts of Karnataka, namely Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada and Kasaragod district of Kerala in southwestern India. Kanara forms the southern part of the Konkan coast...

, Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, and the Konkan

Konkan

The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...

.

Preparation

First part is to collect enough clay and place it in a mold and is cut to exact measurement. Then that rectangular piece of clay with exact length and thickness is placed on another machine which puts the factory logo and shapes it into a tile.
Then with hand any extra clay is removed and sent to be carried for firing and later glazing. It was interesting to say the least to see how both men and women worked cooperatively to produce the final product.It is a very delicate and detailed process starting from collection of clay to the final product to be fired. Once fired and glazed it is ready and is stored for shipping.

Trade and commerce

Tiles are exported to east Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and the Middle East.