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Aaranmula Kannadi (Aranmula Metal Mirror)

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Aaranmula Kannadi (Aranmula Metal Mirror)

Introduction:
Aranmula metal mirror manufacturing was started in the early 18th century. It represents a fascinating area of culture and technological curiosity. Mysterious in its creation, unequalled in its beauty, this metal mirror a medieval Dravidian marvel in the annals of metallurgy was in vogue long before the appearance of today’s silicon glass mirror. This is constrained to only one household of master craftsmen in Aranmula. Aranmula Kannadi is a unique art which cannot be found else anywhere in the world. 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 polishing can go on for one to two days so as to achieve highly reflective surfaces.

The technique of production of this mirror is a closely guarded secret handed over from generation to generation of craftsmen.

Importance:

There is a great difference between ordinary mirror and the metallic mirror. In an ordinary mirror, there is a silver nitrate coating which reflects the light and thus presents the image of the object. There is no silver coating on the metallic mirror. When you touch a piece of paper on the surface of an ordinary mirror, there appears a gap between the object and image, where as in the Aranmula metal mirror, there is a point of touching of two images and exists no gap between the images. The making of this mirror needs intuition, expertise, precision, lot of dedication and to be done in a sacred atmosphere. It is believed that if a a person brings this mirror home, Goddess Parvathy blesses him and will be liberated from all evil forces.

Aranmula kannadi onam offer – Get 10% discount

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www.aranmulamirror.com – The authentic online portal for buying aranmula kannadi is offering a special discount for all of their buyers in this onam 2011.

they are offering 10% discount on every order during this onam season. They put a couple of more models in their website recently. so order your aranmula kannadi today itself and get a 10% discount.

Get the symbol of prosperity in to your house during this onam. Happy Onam to everyone.

Aranmula Kannadi And Onam

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Aranmula Kannadi Online

Another Onam is coming. It is considered as very prosperous to own or gift aranmula kannadi during the Onam time. Onam is the celebration of prosperity, no matter which corner in this globe, every malayali will be celebrating the Onam.

Most of the malayalees will be coming back to their native and visiting their relatives during the onam time. Chingam is the month of celebrations and good luck. because most of the good things will be happening during the month of Chingam. like weddings, House warming etc… So this is the time everybody will be thinking about a very unique and long lasting and a costly gift which needs

to be given to the dear and near ones.

Aranmula Kannadi would be the ideal gift which can given to the near and dear ones during the onam time. because Aranmula kannadi itself is considered as the syumbol of good luck, wealth and prosperity.

Aranmula Kannadi website, is now offering flat 10% Off for every order during the onam season. But make sure that you are placing order well in advance, since there would be a shortage for the mirrors near by the onam time. Artisans would be working day and night to produce the necessary mirrors to meet the orders on time.

For Ordering Aranmula Kannadi for Onam, Click Here

 

 

Aranmula Kannadi featured in blog

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Among Hindus in Kerala, there is great reverence attributed to Ashta Mangalyam (a platter of eight auspicious objects). This platter is part of the bride’s trousseau in some communities. On the day of Vishu (traditional harvest festival in April), people set eyes on this platter first before beginning a prosperous new agrarian year. While the actual symbolic objects differ by occasion, community and location, a regular on the list is a Vaal Kannadi (hand mirror) which is meant to bestow abundance and wealth on the beholder. And the most sought after mirror is a distortion-free Aranmula one.

The uniqueness of the Aranmula Kannadi (mirror) is that the reflective surface is not mercury-backed glass but metal! When you place a fingertip on a normal mirror, you see a gap between the front edge of the glass and the image on the reflective backing layer. However, in the Aranmula Mirror, this gap does not exist. In that sense, it is a true reflection.

The secret of achieving true reflective quality on metal is known only to a set of families in Aranmula, Kerala and this knowledge was inherited as legacy from their bronze-caster forefathers who moved here in the 18th century from Sankarankoil in present-day Tamizh Nadu.

Legend has it that they were required to create a resplendent crown for the local deity using bell metal. But they failed to create an alloy that would, after polishing, befit the grandeur. A widow from the community dreamt about the exact composition that would make the metal as reflective as a mirror. When it proved true, the community also began to create mirrors. The other story goes that when the bronze casters could not achieve the right alloy ratio, their wives threw in their tin jewellery into the mix out of sheer desperation. This is said to have changed the nature of the existing alloy to an unleaded copper-tin alloy, now used to create the Aranmula Mirror.

Each mirror is painstakingly made by hand and, depending on the size, could take about six months to make. The clay used for casting, the higher concentration of tin in the copper-tin alloy and the duration of heating the alloy are but some aspects in a process where purification of the metal is of great importance to get a good shine. Some secret herbs are rumoured to be added to the alloy. Even polishing the metal is said to be an elaborate process, done for a few hours a day for about 3 days.

A round mirror of 5” diameter set in an ornate brass frame costs about Rs. 8000. A major component of the cost is the labour. But the other factor is the considerable wastage in the manufacturing process as the metal plates are almost glass-like in their fragility. Traditionally, the demand for the product grew when it was included in the Ashta Mangalyam. However, owing to the price, it is now considered a precious and unique artefact.

Aranmula Mirros have now been granted GI (Geographical Indication) status and they are currently manufactured by the Parthsaradhy Handicraft Centre in Aranmula. While they have an online store (www.aranmulakannadi.com), you could simply walk into one of the Kairali Emporia (outlets of the Handicrafts Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd ) and see a sample there before placing your order.
(An edited version appeared in Culturama’s February 2011 Issue)

Article Coutesy: http://saritharao.blogspot.com

aranmulakannadi buying online

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How can you buy an aranmulakannadi? you can buy aranmulakannadi in many ways. either you can come down to aranmula and order your aranmulakannadi there, or now you can do it via online.

we’ve got many queries about how can i buy aranmulakanadi, or whether i need to comedown to aranmula to purchase one. but we also know it very well that, coming down to aranmula is not practical for most of the people, so we decided to offer the service online.

now you can go to http://aranmulamirror.com and call the numbers provided there or simply mail to sales@aranmulamirror.com with your favorite model. our representatives will always ready to help you and our service is round the clock.

Aranmula Valkannadi – Two new models Launched

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We are very glad to announce that, we added new two beautiful models of aranmula mirror – Valkannadi’s in to the aranmula kannadi online showroom.

These two new models are the bigger versions of the most popular aranmula valkannadi model AMS1007.  The first one AMS1014 and second one is AMS1015. They are both in oval shaped mirror part with a beautiful and artistic handle. vaalkannadis are the traditional model of aranmula kannadi. These big vaalkannadis are comes with a hook on their backside, so that you can hang them in the wall.

Here is the photos of new vaalkannadi models.

Aranmula VaalKannadi - AMS1014

Aranmula Vaalkannadi - AMS1015

Aranmula village and Aranmula Kannadi

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Aranmula, a village in the district of Pathanamthitta is well known for its ancient temple dedicated to Lord Krishna also known as Parthasarathy. Here, among its many attractions like the holy river Pamba, the annual regatta of snake boats during the festival of Onam, a traditional know-how continues to amaze the rest of the world. And it is the fine metallurgical art of making metal mirrors or the Aranmula Kannadi.

As per local belief the handmade Aranmula Kannadi is considered as an auspicious object kept in households for bringing prosperity, luck and wealth. As per tradition in Kerala, Aranmula metal mirror forms part of the ashtamangalya set – one of the eight auspicious items that is usually arranged and displayed at functions like marriage. The proper maintenance of the metal mirror, requires the mirror to be kept under room temperature and also away from heat and dust. There is a prescribed method to wipe the mirror to remove finger stains and other marks on it. The wiping movement is restricted to a particular direction and not in all.

Noted for outstanding beauty and shrouded in secrecy, the Aranmula Kannadi is considered a medeival marvel in the annals of metallurgy. It was in use much before the appearance of modern-day glass mirrors. The technical know-how behind the making of this unique metal mirror is confined to only some households of master craftsmen in Aranmula.

The origins of the Aranmula Kannadi are linked to the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple. The legend says that some centuries ago, eight families of experts in temple arts and craft were brought to Aranmula from Thirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. They were given the task of undertaking works in the Parthasarathy Temple. While working with bronze to make a crown for the presiding deity of the temple – Lord Parthasarathy, they accidentally stumbled upon a unique reflective property of one alloy comprising copper and tin. The craftsmen later tried different compositions, which eventually led to the standards of making the metal mirror, which are still kept as a guarded secret.

A special alloy is used to manufacture the Aranmula Kannadi. The metal mirror manufactured in Aranmula is a front surface reflection mirror, which eliminates secondary reflections and aberrations typical of back surface mirrors. The exact metals that form the alloy are said to be a combination of copper and tin. Besides making the right combination of the alloy, the craftsmen get involved in intensive polishing sessions, which would go on for several days to obtain the desired reflective surface. Even today, craftsmen use traditional, indigenous methods and materials to produce the reflecting wonder called Aranmula Kannadi. It takes great practice and tremendous amount of focus and patience to produce a perfect mirror piece.

To know the quality of reflection on an Aranmula metal mirror, the following example would be sufficient. When you touch a piece of paper on the surface of an ordinary mirror, a gap remains between the paper and the image produced. But, in the case of the Aranmula metal mirror, there will be no gap between the image and the object. This indicates the fact that only a real, distortion-free image is produced on an Aranmula Kannadi.

Aranmula is today one of the model tourism villages declared by Kerala Tourism. It has now become popular as a major centre for cultural tourism in Kerala and attracts visitors, especially those from outside India.