The picturesque heritage village of Aranmula lies a few kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. This town has the ancient and famous Parthasarathy temple, on the banks of the Pampa. According to legend, the king of Pandalam brought artisans from Sankaran Koil near Tirunelveli to Aranmula to build the temple.
These skilled craftsmen also made ornaments, cooking vessels and bells by casting copper-based alloys and thereby discovered the reflective property of a particular copper-tin alloy. Thus began the tradition of making the Aranmula kannadi .
Process of production
This extraordinary mirror is handmade and, unlike the usual glass mirror, eliminates secondary reflections typically seen in back surface mirrors. There are three kinds of mirrors: the back stand, the fixed stand and the hand mirror. First, the mould is prepared, based on the shape, and the metals are melted. Eighty mirrors can be made from one mould. The names and composition of the metals are known only to the craftsmen and is referred to as the Vishwakarma family secret.
In the second stage, the metal is polished. This labour-intensive task takes weeks to get that perfect finish and reflective surface. Once done, the mirror is set in elegant ornamental frames.
These mirrors can never be duplicated, as the intricacies of making them are known only to the family that crafts them. It is believed that the formula of the alloy was revealed in a dream to a woman from one artisan’s family.
The Aranmula kannadi is part of the Ashtamangalya set (eight auspicious items) usually displayed at religious ceremonies, functions and weddings. It is believed to bring luck and is kept in places of worship and meditation. To clean it, one has to wipe the surface only in one specific direction to maintain its lustre and luminosity.
In 2004, this rare craft was awarded a geographical indication (GI) tag and a 45-cm tall mirror was placed in London’s British Museum.
