Madurai :

A 27-foot-long machete or ‘aruval’ manufactured in Thirupuvanam, the town famous for its huge knives, will be the major attraction of the Sivarathri festival in a village near Usilampatti. The showpiece will also promote Thirupuvanam as a serious competitor to Thirupacheti, the town which is even more famous for its ‘aruval’.

Often, these famous knives are preserved in many homes in the southern districts as an heirloom though their sharpness makes them good for use after many years. Thirupuvanam is being sought-after mainly for the huge machetes that are kept as show pieces in temples to redeem vows rather than to be used as tools or weapons.

Thirupachethi, just 10 kilometres away, enjoyed a big reputation even during the pre-Independence days. It was said that the Marudhu Pandiyar brothers, who fought the British, sourced their weapons, knives and spears from there. They are unique in their shape, size and sharpness and the manufacturers say that they never get blunt. Even today, the manufacturers give a guarantee of 20 years for their products.

Predominantly populated by agriculturists, the town was filled with smithies which made machetes in large numbers till about two decades ago. The business which fell drastically thereafter is now seen to be picking up. There was a period when police cracked down on this region and imposed restrictions on their manufacture, as many criminals who had used ‘aruvals’ for fights and murders confessed to having bought them from here.
S Nagendran, the vice-president of Vishwakarma Association, of blacksmiths, says that Thirupuvanam aruvals have gained a name for themselves now. At present, the town has 15 smithies like Thirupachethi. They also make agricultural implements like spades, digging bars and knives in a variety of sizes. But now they have been asked to restrict the size of their aruvals to 2 feet or less to ensure that they are not misused by criminals. The aruvals are made manually by heating steel to red hot condition and hammering the blade to make it sharp. A single aruval has to be heated about 12 to 15 times to be shaped into a weapon.

Satish Kumar who is a third generation manufacturer of aruvals, is making the 27-foot-long aruval for a customer from Usilampatti in Madurai. The machete weighs 250 kilograms and costs about Rs 40,000 at Rs 1,500 a foot. The biggest this town had made was an 18-foot-long machete last year. Though ordinary weapons are made of steel, these showpieces are made using iron. Around five to ten persons have been involved in making the weapon for the past one week.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Madurai News / TNN / February 24th, 2017