Kochi :

The geographical indication (GI) of Aranmula mirror  — the first product from Kerala to receive the tag in 2005 — has been contested by a family that claims to have developed its technology. The unique mirror, made of high-tin bronze in a secretive metallurgical formula, has found patrons across the globe.

Members of Thikkinampallil family, hailing from Aranmula in Pathanamthitta, have contested the GI tag given to Viswabrahmana Aranmula Metal Mirror Nirman Society (VAMMNS) by the Geographical Indications registry. “We have moved the Chennai registry to cancel the tag for Aranmula mirror and instead give it to our Thikkinampallil Aranmula mirror,” said M C Sureshbabu, secretary of Thikkinampallil Aranmula Metal Mirror Nirman Family Charitable Trust (Thikkinampallil Trust).

The family also plans to move court against the tag. Sureshbabu said his predecessors were brought from Shankaran Kovil near Thirunelveli by a former Pandalam raja for the construction of Aranmula Parthasarathy temple. “The manufacturing technique of the mirror was developed by one of our family members through trial and error. We have a certificate given by the Travancore ruler to one of our family members in the 1940s to attend an exhibition to support our claim that our family had traditionally been into Aranmula mirror making. The formula, however, leaked through workshop assistants,” he said.

The website of GI registry shows that the application from Thikkinampallil Trust is being examined. “The first sitting on our application is over; we are awaiting the examination report,” James said.

‘ Application from Thikkinampallil Trust being examined’

“We have a certificate given by the Travancore ruler to one of our family members in the 1940s to attend an exhibition to support our claim that our family had traditionally been into Aranmula mirror making. The formula, however, leaked through workshop assistants,” he said.

The website of GI registry shows that the application from Thikkinampallil Trust is being examined. “The first sitting on our application is over; we are awaiting the examination report,” said Febin James, legal counsel to Thikkinampallil Trust.

The immediate provocation for the petition with the GI registry was the opposition from VAMMNS to Sureshbabu’s mother Maniammal opening a mirror dealership near Aranmula temple nearly three years ago. “We have a certificate given by the Travancore ruler to one of our family members in the 1940s to attend an exhibition to support this. The formula, however, leaked through workshop assistants,” Sureshbabu said.

Society founding president A K Selvaraj said it tried to stop the sale of mirrors as Maniammal’s shop had been sourcing them from a relative’s workshop in Cherthala. “When something is GI tagged, it should be produced in that region only,” he said. “A member of Thikkinampallil Trust was the founder treasurer of VAMMNS but the relationship soured after VAMMNS decided to impose holograms on products.”

James said VAMMNS couldn’t insist on manufacturing mirrors in Aranmula. “Unlike the Darjeeling tea, which is very much tied to the locality where it is grown, the Aranmula mirror is a technology-based product and it could be made anywhere,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kochi News / by Shenoy Karun / TNN / January 04th, 2018