The Craft Community

The craft community of Vadassery has about a hundred to a hundred and twenty craftsmen involved in making jewellery. Approximately ten or fifteen families practise it as hereditary occupation. They all belong to the Viswakarma community. It has five divisions. In the order of importance they are : -

1. Manu - blacksmithy

2. Mayaa - carpentry

3. Dushta - ironmongery (temple articles and house hold utensils)

4. Shilpi - Sculpture

5. Visagnya - Jewellery

In the past, only the Visagnya subcommunity used to make jewellery but now it has spread to the other sections of the community as well. As making temple jewellery is proving to be less renumerative than gold jewellery. They lead very simple lives and since their wants are small, their earnings though meagre usually prove sufficient. They lead lower to middle class lives depending on the individuals. .

The woman are usually confined to household activities even though they are educated these days. They do not directly contribute to the craft which has been passed on for generations from father to son. In a very few households the women contribute by applying the solder paste to the silver form. This activity is restricted to the wives and the daughter-in-law. The daughters are not allowed to participate or learn the craft as they will eventually leave the house when they get married, thus taking with them the secrets of the trade which forms the only source of livelihood of the family.

The gurukul system of education involving discipline and regorous work has now given way to training schools.

The community is concentrated in Vadassery because the making of each piece requires the effort of atleast two or three people, each specialising in a different aspect of jewellery making. Finding such a team of skilled workers outside Vadassery is rare.

All the craftsmen live in an area of half a square kilometer in Vadassery. They all operate from the front room of their homes. Working in their homes enables them to have flexible working hours. They are able to put in long hours of hardwork without disrupting their social lives. The joint family system which has broken down in urban areas is still going strong here. This used to ensure that every make member of the family was employed in the family craft. Nowadays many sons branch of on their own into other profession but still some of them help their fathers in their free time or during weekends.

The craftsmen themselves have formed a Temple Jewellery Association in Vadassery. The President of the Association is Shri Manickom Achari and the Secretary is Shri Ramachandran. They have a tiny office from which they operate. The Association fixes the prices of all conventional pieces of jewellery and the craftsmen abide by it.