KOCHI: When professor Sudha Balachandran, who taught at St Teresa’s college, started selling some temple jewellery brought from her native in Nagercoil way back in 1999, it was just out of curiosity and at the request of some of her close friends. Today, with her brand Alamkrita, she is one of the few in the state to sell traditional temple jewellery directly from the makers in Vadassery in Nagercoil and help them to keep the antique craft alive.
Sudha’s acquaintances with the artisans in Vadassery started when her sister-in-law Dr Meena, an academician in Nagercoil, sent her the first bunch of temple jewellery, hardly 10 or 12 pieces. Sudha also hails from Nagercoil and got settled in Ernakulam after her marriage.
“One teacher, who came to visit us at home, bought an adiga (a small pendant) and wore it to her school. She later told me that the piece invited praises from her colleagues and I should take them to her school during leisure so that other female teachers also could buy them. As a surprise, all the pieces were sold on that same day,” says Sudha.
After the first sale, she started visiting the makers of the jewellery often, who preferred to make the ornaments only based on prior order, unlike the shops that make and display ornaments. A community of artisans are making the ornaments in Vadassery and they consider it a divine craft.
“In the earlier days, these ornaments were used as decorations on the temple deities and were considered as the ‘ornaments of god’. There was much divinity attached to them. Later, dancers started using them on debut performances (arangetram) and popularised these ornaments. Nowadays, the ornaments are made in silver with uncut stones attached to them and later, covered in 24 carrot gold foils,” Sudha explained.
Due to the divine factor attached to the temple jewellery, the artisans do not let people from other communities learn the craft. Though women from the same community were also prevented from making the jewellery earlier, now that has changed. However, women are still prevented from joining their male counterparts in the workshop (Pattara). Instead, they can support the making, sitting at their houses.
Sudha has started giving new names to her customised designs. “Earlier, there were only Poothali, Pichippoo etc. Then, I named them Mandodari, Charulatha, Roopa etc. That was a game-changer in my business. The Mandodari necklace that I named is now being used in the same name in Nagercoil also,” Sudha says.
According to her, 80 per cent of the sale comes from the dancers’ arangetram, which was hugely affected by the pandemic. However, the online sales of individual pieces help her to be active in the market. Alamkrita temple jewellery can be reached at www.templejewellry.com