ARANMULA KANNADI – The metal mirror from the Vedic times
- shruti chawan
- Apr 5
- 3 min read
A mirror not made of glass but metal that lasts for more than thousand years. A mirror that is believed to bring Goodluck and prosperity. A mirror with its unrevealed secret of metallic combinations passing from one generation to other. This is ‘Aranmula Kannadi’ A mirror as ancient as the Vedic times.
An endangered craft that still tries to survive today. Aranmula kannadi is a metallurgical marvel in itself. Aranmula is a little village in the district of pathanamthitta, Kerala, India, which is well known for its ancient temple dedicated to Lord Krishna as Parthasarathy. Famous for its secret constructive method and uniqueness aranmula gets an patent and {GI } Geographical indication mark. The method or process to make this mirror which is completely made out of metal and no glass is used is known only to a few families and is kept a secret. The secret method is passed on from one generation to other and the craft is kept alive even today by the local artisans. This mirror is not mass produced as every piece is individually handcrafted by the artisans which makes it more special. Aranmula kannadi is a special part of auspicious occasions like weddings which is said to bring good luck and prosperity in homes.
While commercially available glass mirrors reflect an image, because of a silver coating at its rear, Aranmula Metal Mirror is the only mirror which reflects from the front plane. This had its popularity until the commercially manufactured glass mirrors which proved to be much cheaper came into advent. The demand of Aranmula Kanadi grew by bounds only a decade ago especially in foreign countries.
A huge amount of determination, perseverance and patience goes into the making of this enchanting mirror. Mud from the local paddy fields is used for the mould into which the molten alloy mix is poured to cast the mirror and the technique followed is the cire-perdue or the lost wax method of casting. Even with the utmost care, only about 60% of the cast metal mirrors can be salvaged, the rest get damaged in the process of manufacture.
The metal mirror is then polished using well-ground, burnt clay powder mixed with special oil on a jute cloth. To achieve a highly reflective surface, polishing can go on from one to several days. When a satisfactory finish is achieved, the mirror is mounted on various models of artistic brass frames.
The mirror is said to have existed from the Vedic times. It has its mentions in Rigveda, Whereas the carvings on khajurao temple show a woman looking into a mirror applying Bindi. Also mirrors have been found in the excavations at Harappa . It is believed that maybe these artisans came to the south from the sapta sindhu and were a part of some master crafters who then continued this craft here. The artists believe that this metallurgical marvel has some undisclosed metals alloyed with silver, bronze, copper and tin that are responsible for the distortion-free images.
This luxurious artistic creation which is also said to be a mirror used by goddess Parvathi continues to adorn the grandeur of houses even today. Lost in the modern times due to cheaply available glass mirrors the aranmula has found its fame back worldwide a decade ago. Today through custom orders, GI patents and rising awareness the metallic marvel is finding its way to the different corners of world stepping up the demands. The British Museum in London also has a 45 centimetre tall Aranmula metal mirror in its collection.
From adorning the houses, Wedding rituals to being a uniquely designed gift this metallic marvel of ‘ARANMULA KANNADI’ a magical mirror mysteriously designed only with metals whose secret still lies unrevealed continues to be in vogue even today from the ancient times.
Information and image credits: ARANMULA KANNADI BUY ONLINE / https://aranmulakannadi.org/ Aranmula Kannadi | Facebook https://www.instagram.com/aranmula.kannadi/
RC Unnithan – proprietor Aranmula kannadi
(Khajuraho statue image source)
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