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.