Salem August 26

A longest anklet measuring 75 feet leads an impressive array that proclaims the pride of Salem’s native silver anklet (golusu) craft in an exhibition at Salem.

The exhibition is a prelude to prepare the people of Salem to look forward to the Geoographical Indication (G.I) tag for Salem’s golusu, say the organisers.

Salem’s centuries old golusu (anklet) trade gets its due share as a heritage to be cherished with the first of its kind effort. Thanks to INTACH Salem Chapter and ANS Dhivyam for having brought the downtown cottage industry’s traditional potentials to the forefront.

About the initiative, Lakshmi Sidharthan and S.Saravanan, the convenor and co-convenor of INTACH Salem Chapter, said, “Amidst a remarkably fast growth the roots of Salem’s cultural development remain unnoticed. Diverse historical sources clearly reveal Salem’s pioneering development of textiles and metallurgy. In particular, handmade silver anklets of Salem are unique and widely appreciated though anklets and toe rings are made in many parts of South Asia and in India. It is to make this known to the younger generation, the exhibition of handmade Salem golusu was conceived and launched.”

On display at ANS Dhivyam Jewellers is a wide range of modern, traditional, fusion, intricate and minimalist designs from the silver smiths’ cottages.

For a more immersive experience one can watch a guided audio-visual tour about how the Salem golusu is made. From the melting of silver bars to drawing of wires, chains, embellishments and the finishing stage, a typical silver anklet product goes through 30 distinct stages of value addition with each getting the unique touch from the hands of highly specialised craftsmen. “It is expected that it will sensitise the glory of our culture to the younger generation of today and would feel the need of getting the G.I mark for Salem golusu,” say Lakshmi and Saravanan.

CFCM

(Centre for Community Media)