Vivardhini Handicrafts

  Introducing Traditional Cookware   Ever heard anybody mention Eeya chombu or shombu(as some would call it)? Chances are that if you are from South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, some of you would have.   It would have been primarily used in reference to the ubiquitous Rasam, an integral part of traditional South Indian cuisine. Many of you may have had lip smacking rasam at some point, chances are the secret behind it was the container that was used for making it. When rasam is cooked in these vessels the reaction between the tamarind and spices with the metal imparts an earthy and flavourful aroma that enhances its taste and therapeutic qualities.   Eeyam in Tamil stands for both the metal Tin and Lead. Chombu is the name given to a specific shape of vessel. While we all know that Lead is poisonous, cooking in a pure Tin vessel is considered beneficial. The history of the using Eeyam(Tin) in cookware dates back several centuries. It is believed to have or...

Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers may not have been educated formally but they were mathematical geniuses for whom mental math came naturally. Much of the credit goes to the ancient game of Pallankuzhi (known as Mancala in hindi and Alagulimane in Kannada).  The origins of the game are said to go back to the Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu and in one instance, a researcher has talked about the game being referred in a Pallava copper plate dating back to 550 AD. The game is played between 2 players on a rectangular board with 2 rows and 7 columns of holes. There are a total of 14 holes (Kuzhi in tamil). In the beginning, each hole has 6 shells, stones or seeds. Each row belongs to a player. The first player picks up the shells from one of the holes and starts distributing them in a clockwise manner one at a time in each hole. Each player is allowed to pickup shells from his/her row and distribute across the holes with the objective of getting shells from the next hole once...