Mirroring the past in present

KOCHI: When I visited the artisans in Aranmula earlier this year, they invited me to spend two days with them to learn how they make the famed metal mirror. Little did I know that the pandemic would not allow it! However, I explored a good part of Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta district, during the one day that I got to spend there.In Kerala, much lore is carefully woven into the local narrative to explain a place’s culture and history. Aranmula is the fountainhead of the district’s culture, with Sree Parthasarathi Temple as its cultural epicentre. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, many aspects such as Aranmula kannadi, Aranmula vallamkali and vallasadya attribute their origin to this temple.  

Legend says that after the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas arrived in this part of the country and built a temple for Lord Krishna on the banks of river Pampa. The Parthasarathi Temple was built by Arjuna. There is another legend that says the idol was brought on a raft made of six (aaru in Malayalam) bamboos (mula) and thus, the name Aranmula.

As I was exiting the temple, I noticed a room on one side of the entrance, secured with a heavy lock. Thanka Anki, or the golden attire of Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala is kept in this room. In 1973, Chitra Tirunal Balarama Varma, the last Maharaja of Travancore, offered the 420-sovereign Thanka Anki to the deity. Ever since, the finale of the 41-day Mandalam pilgrim season witnesses a ceremonial procession carrying Thanka Anki from Aranmula to Sabarimala, where the chief priest decorates the main idol and performs the puja, marking the culmination of the mandala kalam. 

Aranmula Kannadi: The msytical mirror
After the temple was built, the Royal Chief of Aranmula, in the 16th century, invited eight families of artisans from Tamil Nadu to make ornaments and musical instruments. As they were making a crown for the deity, the mirror formed accidentally during metal casting. When they showed it to the chief, he was so impressed that he incorporated it in the eight auspicious objects used in the worship of the deity.

Kannadi means mirror, derived from ‘kannu’ or eye in Malayalam. In my understanding, ‘kannadi’ seems to have a more profound meaning than just ‘mirror’; it is the mind that determines what the eyes shall see. The eye is only the instrument, but the mind is the real architect. The way ‘kannadi’ captures cultural values, its English equivalent ‘mirror’ does not. Mirror holds an important place in every aspect of life in Kerala – be it cultural, religious or social.

For instance, in Theyyam, a ritualistic art practised in north Malabar, looking into the mirror, called Mukha-darshan, is a defining moment.The Aranmula Kannadi is made employing the lost wax technique or bell-metal casting. While the exact composition is still a secret, researchers say that it is high tin bronze, an alloy of copper and tin (no glass is used in making the mirror). It is a front surface reflection mirror that produces a sharp undistorted image. So, the image you see of yourself in the mirror is very clearl. Since the alloy can withstand corrosion, the mirror can last for generations.

The fascination for mirrors, however, goes way back in time! Mirrors made of volcanic rock (obsidian) were used in modern-day Turkey, in 6000 BCE. With the advent of the Bronze Age, bronze mirrors were crafted in China, Mesopotamia and Egypt because the alloy could be readily shaped and moulded. 
In the lost wax technique, the mould is made with wax and molten bronze/brass is poured into it to acquire the desired shape. 

This technique has an enduring history. It was employed in the Indus Valley. Remember the statuette of the dancing girl? It is a prehistoric sculpture discovered in Mohenjo-Daro, a city part of the Indus Valley Civilization. This figurine, along with a few others of that era, has been preserved in the National Museum, Delhi. 

Bronze artefacts crafted this way are prevalent in Central and Eastern India, along the mineral belt – Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odissa, West Bengal and Telangana – where it is called Dhokra. Ornamental embellishments in Theyyam outfits are made in Payyanur, Kannur. The Aranmula Kannadi is the first handicraft from Kerala and second in India to be awarded Geographical Indication tag in 2004-05. More recently, Aranmula was enlisted as a heritage village by the United Nations.

The Aranmula Kannadi is made employing the lost wax technique or bell-metal casting. While the exact composition is still a secret, researchers say that it is high tin bronze, an alloy of copper and tin (no glass is used in making the mirror)