ARANMULA KANNADI-THE MIRROR FROM ARANMULA,KERALA

Kannadi in Malayalam means mirror,the name of mirror conjures up in our
mind the image of a glass-but Aranmula Kannadi is made from a specific
metal alloy- the composition of which is a fiercely guarded secret by
the traditional craftsmen family of this area-this knowledge transfered
from father to son and no one outside the family knows about their
secret.
Aranmula is a place in central kerala in the alleppy district and is
famous for its craftsman who make world renowned Aranmula Kannadi or the
Aranmula mirror-these crafts men are associated with Aranmula Sri
Krishna Swamy temple which is famous for its "Palpayasam prasadam" like
Tirupathy Laddus.
Legend had it that the king of Aranmula once invited the forefathers of
these craftsmen to his kingdom for the construction of the temple of
Lord Krishna.The craftsmen were very talented people and they earned the
appreciation of the king very quickly for the expert work that they were
performing and they slowly began to get egoistic-on hearing this the
king ordered them to get out of his country since they started to boast
of their ability and they claimed that they are better than the king
himself-these developments did not amuse the King of Aranmula and he
ordered the the head craftsman to be hanged to death.Upon hearing the
verdict the whole craftsmen families were terrified and all of
them-young and old realized their folly of of becoming too proud of
themselves that they went to the Krishna temple and started praying to
Krishna for help to save themselves from king's wrath.
On that very night the head craftsman had a dream while he was fast
asleep that Krishna came to him and revealed the composition of a metal
mixture with which they should make the mirror and then present to the
king as a gift so as to calm him down-the next day morning the head
crafts man who got the dream assembled all his kinsmen and began to
explain what he has seen in his dream.Amazed and excited they at once
started to make the mirror which is the forerunner of todays famous
Aranmula Kannadi(Aranmula Mirror) and they presented this mirror as a
gift to the king.The king was so overjoyed that he allowed the craftsmen
to settle in Aranmula and continue making the Aranmula Kannadi.Aranmula
kannadi is in fact a marvel of mettalurgy in kerala.