Vadassery

Vadassery is a small village in the district of Kanyakumari in Tamilnadu. It is about 2.5 km away from the town of Nagarcoil (famed for its snake temples). The nearest big city, Thiruvananthapuram (formerly known as Triivandrum) is about 80kms away. Nagercoil is well connected by the railways and roads to all surrounding villages, town in nearby district and cities in Southern India.

One leaves the bustling streets of Nagercoil and enters the narrow lanes of Vadassery, lined by continuous rows of inward looking houses. Most of the houses have brick walls with corrugated asbestos roofing supported by wooden beams. There is a tiny courtyard in every house which serves as an inlet for natural light and ventilation.

The main sources of livelihood of the people of Vadassery are handloom weaving and jewellery making. There is a Handloom weavers co-operative and a Temple Jewellers' Association which serve as official bodies to represent these craftsmen.

Vadassery is the hub of all temple jewellery making activity. The sparkling temple jewels draw their essence from this tiny suburb and its inhabitants who have been nurturing this craft through the ages.