Come ONAM, the few traditional bronze smith households in Aranmula who are the 'custodians ' of the metallurgical secret of the Aranmula kannadi, the world-famous metal mirrors, turn into a beehive of activities.
"Demands for the metal mirrors is high during the Onam season and we work round-the-clock to meet it," says P.Gopakumar, a master craftsman of the Aranmula kannadi.

Tourists, foreign as well as native, turn up in large numbers to witness and enjoy the festive mood in Aranmula, a small village nestling on the banks of River Pampa in Pathanamthitta district during Onam.Uthrittathi Vallamakali, the snakeboat regatta in River Pampa, is the main tourist attraction in Aranmula during the Onam season.

"Whenever you say Aranmula, the word 'kannadi' (mirror) follows spontaneously as the popularity of the Metal Mirrors.

The origin of the Aranmula Metal Mirror is laced with the famous Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple, which is the nerve centre of the rich Pampa Valley civilization.

Legend has it that the local king had brought eight families of bronze smiths to Aranmula in connection with the renovation work of the Parthasarathy Temple centuries ago. The artisans had settled in Aranmula, later, after the completion of the work. Their descendants became lazy and a public nuisance, inviting the ire of the king who had ordered their eviction from Aranmula.

The worried artisans sought refuge in Lord Parthasarathy, the presiding deity of the Aranmula temple. Legend says that the same night, the artisan family had a divine vision that presented the composition of the reflective metal piece that gives distortion free images.

The artisans jointly moulded a magnificent crown and presented it to the king. A pleased royal chief had not only pardoned them but also honoured them with land and jewels. Since then, the artisans took up mirrors making as their profession, presenting a masterpiece in metallurgy to the world.

Meanwhile, the number of artisan families engaged in mirror-making has now been reduced to a mere five who know the composition of this unique piece of metallurgy limited in five families in Aranmula.

"In a way, the state can relax, as none can obtain the patent of the Aranmula Kannadi as the Almighty has already given it to the numerically small artisan community of Aranmula. Even if some one 'manages to obtain' a patent for it, he will have to content with the patent as we are the sole custodians of its secret composition," says Mr.Gopakumar.

The making of the metal mirror is a long process that needs enough patience. Some undisclosed metals are alloyed with copper and tin to cast the Aranmula Kannadi in typical clay moulds.

The method is the age-old lost-wax process in traditional style after melting the metals in a furnace fitted with a manual blower. The moulded metal disc is being mounted on a wooden plank to polish it using well-ground burnt clay powder and castor oil on a jute cloth. The polishing process can go on for two to three days, says Mr.Gopakumar. The polished metal discs are mounted on bronze frames with exquisite carvings.

According to him, it takes not less than 14 days to make a dozen metal mirrors, and the smallest Aranmula Kannadi of one-and-a-half inches costs about Rs.950.

He says that the sale of the Aranmula Kannadi is not a problem during Onam as the inflow of tourists here is on the rise every year. And the artisan households are busy in moulding mirrors, spreading the message of a rich Pampa Valley Civilization the world over.

Courtesy THE HINDU