Aranmula

Heard of the wonder mirror? Seeing is believing. I had heard about Aranmula Kannadi (mirror) before, but had no idea about the unique craft this village boasted of, till I saw the mirror myself. Can you believe it that the metal is polished by the artisans in such a fashion that the metal starts to look like an actual glass mirror? How cool is that! It is said that around the 18th century, the artisans who were working on a crown for Lord Parthasarthy, accidentally discovered the reflective property of a particular copper-tin alloy. They failed at replicating the same effect in their subsequent works. They say, Parvathi Amma, a widow in the community happened to dream about the correct composition of the metal and disclosed the information to the artisans. Since then, this craft is a close guarded secret within the family through various generations. Btw did you know that the British Museum in London has on display a 45 cm tall Aranmula metal mirror in its collection? With this you can imagine how exquisite this mirror is to be acknowledged internationally. AR Rahman also received as gift Aranmula kannadi during his felicitation at his concert recently held at Kozhikode. Aranmula, ‘ar’ meaning six and ‘mole’ meaning bamboo, got its name when Lord Krishna depicting as a charioteer (from epic Mahabharata) was brought to the famous Parthasarthy temple on a raft made of 6 bamboos. Aranmula holds Vallamkali (snake boat race) every year during Onam celebrations. Organized on Pamba River, participants in this race are from nearby villages who come in numbers to cheer up their representatives for the race. And the unique thing about this race is that it is played in the spirit of the game and not for any recognition or prize. Each of these boats is around 100ft long and takes up 100 oarsmen, 15 singers and 4 helmsmen on a single boat! Another attraction to this place used to be Vijnana Kala Vedi Cultural Centre (located on the banks of sacred Pamba in Aranmula). More so for the tourists. I am still surprised at the news of the centre getting closed nearly after 33 years of its foundation! It’s sad for the locals at the centre who made their living by imparting knowledge on mural paintings, vocals, music instruments, Kerala cooking etc to the tourists and others. So now the only attraction that remains at Aranmula is its specialized mirror. If you plan to go there, then FYI – Kochi and Thiruvanathapuram are the nearest airport at 130 km and 115 km respectively while the closest railhead is at Chengannur.