Salangai Making

A Salangai (Tamil) is one of many small metallic bells strung together to form a musical anklet tied to the feet of classical Indian dancers. In Tamil Nadu, the salangai is immediately associated with the Bharatnatyam dance form. Every Bharatnatyam dancer participates in ‘Salangai poojai’ and ‘Arangetram’. The salangai poojai is an important step for any Bharatnatyam dancer.  The dancer’s salangai is placed before a deity to be blessed. The salangai poojai takes place before the Arangetram. Arangetram is the debut on-stage performance of a former student of Indian classical dance and music. A string of Salangai can range from 50 to greater than 200 bells knotted together. A novice child dancer may start with 50 and slowly add more as he or she grows older and advances in his or her technical ability.


PROCESS
The process of making salangai is a strenuous and lengthy process. Very few places in our country practice this craft today due to this reason.
The making of salangai begins with the forging of the bronze bells. In Tamil Nadu, the bronze bells are made in Manapparai, a small town near Tiruchirappalli. For making the beads, a separate unique process is followed. Moulds of beads made from mud and cow dung are dipped in a mixture of honey wax, tree sap and castor oil.” Then ‘karuvus’ are dried in the sun for two days. Once the karuvus are dry, they are baked within special mud furnaces for six hours and the bronze, which was placed within the furnace earlier, melts to coat the moulds.’ The mud moulds are cooled and broken away to make hollow bronze beads that are fitted in with iron balls. The men polish the beads because it involves greater physical exertion. The polished beads are then strung on thread into batches of 100 and sold.

These beads are bought by salangai makers and crafted into different types of Salangais. Mr Habeeb is an artisan who lives in Purasawakkam, Chennai. He practices the art of Salangai making. After sourcing the bells, himself and his five apprentices get to work on the salangai. He begins with cutting the leather, sourced from Parry’s, in appropriate sizes. The leather is perforated and stuffed with foam. The bells are then attached to the leather using insulated wire. The leather is folded over the wire and sewn shut. The edges are trimmed to perfection and the golden embellishments are added. Then, Thin strips of leather are attached to the ends for the buckle straps. When the buckles are attached and after a final inspection, the finished salangai is packaged. Mr Habeeb makes salangai with 3 rows to five rows. He also makes the braided salangai that can be tied around the dancer’s feet.

The fluctuation in bronze prices, has forced many of them out of business. Though they buy the metal for Rs.500 per kg today, he says it once used to cost just Rs.30. Their main markets are Tiruchi, Madurai, Kumbakonam and Tanjore, with festivals like the Chithirai Thiruvizha bringing in a boost in sales. But otherwise sales is unpredictable. They are incapable of selling in bulk as they do not have the money to buy the materials in bulk. There are growing concerns over the future of their craft with many of the workers’ children refusing to pursue the craft. The craft is neither patronised by the government nor given financial assistance by banks.


The demand for the product has not decreased, as Bharatnatyam is a very revered and important part of Tamil Nadu’s culture. But due the increase the price of bronze has drastically inflated. Subsidies from the government could help the artisans meet the supply for the demand better. This in turn would help them turn a good profit. If the income from the craft is steady, the children of the artisans may consider following the craft of making salangai, instead of opting for a different career path.

Documented by Adhithi Priya R