ARANMULA KANNADI – OH MIRROR, MIRROR……!!
By Deepa Abraham
Deepa’s short piece has been selected as the winner of Sahab’s April Writing Competition, the theme for which was ‘Finding Calm Through Language’. The narrative centres on the Aranmula Kannadi, a handcrafted metal mirror symbolising reflection beyond appearance. Blending heritage, myth, and the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, it frames beauty in imperfection. The mirror becomes a metaphor for introspection, artistic growth, and the writer’s craft shaped by time, culture, and lived experience.
Nestled within the lush green trees of a remote village, I truly find some solace when I feel hard-pressed by the ravages of time tied to my age but age is just a number. The more I experiment with art and crafts, pottery and culinary delights the more I get to know as I reflect with the Lens of the finest of ‘Mirrors’, I have ever come across….!! The best part of the story is the fact that it’s a mirror but it was never made of glass! Then what is it..!? – It’s a rare exquisite beauty with a presence like none other and it’s ‘Óne & One Only’ because it’s one of its kind and has a class of its own.
But since it’s a rare artefact from the good old days passed down from one artisan to the other it’s a legacy of craftsmanship with a sacred ratio and proportion that is a safely guarded secret like ‘Victoria’s Secrets’ because it’s not just a perfect blend of aristocracy and the perfectly mundane rice bran but also an exclusively rare piece of divinity in its pristine form.
So what about a Mirror? Is it really something to romanticize or fantasize? Since I am extremely passionate about painting and portraying a lot of details from a ‘rose-colored’ LENS and this ‘Mirror’ on the Wall is what makes it an ‘Out of this World’ experience all together with a magic word with the tip of two forefingers which is ‘FREEZE’ and the world at large comes to a standstill, as if we switch over, to a ‘whole new world’, on a ‘magic carpet’, with the magic of the ‘Mirror’ on the wall and not the Magi.
What blends well with the ‘Aesthetics’ of a rare artifact are two scenarios, one of which is a beautiful Japanese concept from the Japanese School of Life and Art of Living that says “Wabi-Sabi” is what dictates aesthetics and our perception of beauty which is not about ‘Skin & Bones or Riches Galore’ but something far beyond just appearance!
The appreciation of beauty and brains could be a ‘no-brainer’, because the real beauty is not about a ‘matte finish’ as much as it is about the ‘strokes of a maestro’ in all of its simplicity, pristine charm and exceptionality like none other to which we can relate. It’s often described as the appreciation of beauty that is “imperfect” like the “uncut diamond” which isn’t complete and feels incomplete without its dazzle!
With a special bronze like alloy of real copper-tin mixture or rather a compound the surface reflection is better than glass with no refraction or glares and unbreakable too unlike glass and these are just a few features that it makes alluring to the heart and hearth…..!! It is also one of the eight auspicious and significant ceremonial memoirs used in traditional temple ceremonies and it reflects heritage and prosperity.
In fact, this science of reflection and the art of crafting a mirror which is better than glass seems to be a revelation received by a widow from the Goddess of Knowledge & Wisdom through years of sacrifice and piety and the sacred ratio of the chemistry behind the Bronze-Copper-Tin Alloy Mixture is a safely and heavily guarded secret like Aladdin’s Cave of Wonder!!
So, what this means is that unlike a glass mirror there is really “NO GAP” in the reflection between your fore-finger and its shadow of it, upon a touch, as if it were glass. Off course the highly celebrated festivities like ONAM and VISHU are just a few occasions where the beauty and purpose of Unique artisanship & craftsmanship manifests itself.
Food for Thought:-For those acquainted with healthy boundaries of pristine beauty – ‘Gods Own Country’ is like a County or a Province, not shriveled by the ‘Concrete World’ but owns testament to beautiful temples, churches & mosques, craftsmanship, intense and unique designs, styles, art and architecture with backwaters, diverse & succulent marine life in the backwater lakes and ponds with the raw and rustic signature styles of a civilization anchored in its roots.
What’s even more interesting is a question that allows us to “Spin Over a Spindle”, a looming question as to whether the good hearted Demon King –MAHABALI THAMPURAN came to his visit his people and loyal subjects once a Year from HADES with an ARANMULA KANNADI !? – A thought that automatically spreads a cheer of sheer goodwill at the thought of ONAM the festival of plenty and pomp to celebrate the ‘HOME- COMING’ of the Demon King :) !!!
It would have been just ideal for a King to have a majestic mirror that helps him see the reflections of pomp and splendor quite striking in its own way, as he was greatly admired as a virtuous ruler by his people and loyal subjects and as a great ruler he crossed all BOUNDARIES to rule both heaven and earth till he was pushed down to HADES by the GODS with just 3 STEPS :) .
As a result to this Day, the ARANMULA KANNADI is a clear reflection of the ensemble of ‘beauty and purpose’, with pristine charm more than the symphony of Mozart, and it’s a perfect blend of finesse, art and architecture to just find it hanging in a ‘Tree-House’ perhaps not too far away from an ideal setting where you and I can improve the “Writers Craft” like any other Skill such as Art & Craft, Pencil Sketch, Pottery, Culinary Delights or Music and Dance as we learn and unlearn the Art of Living!! We then learn to draw on a ‘BLANK CANVAS’ with a ‘CHALK n DUSTER’ to complete our picture in the ‘Seven Stages of Man’ from infancy to old age or evergreen youth!!!
Hence, “Back in Time”, looking at the real life scenarios that may feel outlandish, bespoke, weird, out of this world and quite ODD, but for the insurmountable ODDS, dysfunctional scenarios, deterrence, and the paralyzing effect of a comedy of errors and tragedies like a fatal slip in the laps of destiny is the reason to reflect from a different LENS of a UNIQUE MIRROR of LIFE.
Yet again I am drawn, to centuries old construct of an ARK like NOAH’s ARK that seemed like an ARC, but it was much more than how it seemed as SPACE was redefined in the legacy of TIME and embellished with precision, tact, art, durability, tenacity, resilience and finesse like none other as the functional aesthetics was just incomparable and stands unmatched in the TEST of TIME. To conclude, we can draw inference from Natures Lap as timeless beauty is a sheer reflection of timelessness and sustainable elegance like an evergreen piece of CRAFT – the Writers CRAFT.