Varpu is a large cauldron made of cast bronze traditionally used in Kerala for preparing sweet dishes like 'Payasam' (Kheer in Hindi). This large cooking vessel will be put into use during feasts, festivals and special occasions when food has to be prepared for a large number of people in Kerala. A smaller version of this vessel is called Uruli, and it is golden colored. Nowadays you will see such vessels filled with water and beautiful flowers floating, in many resorts and hotels and households. But 'varpu' is still being used by large catering business firms that involve cooking for a very large number of people.
I remember seeing such huge cauldrons at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. While visiting the historic Jew town area of Mattancherry in Kochi, I happened to visit this awesome antique shop called 'Crafters', where the world's largest varpu is being exhibited.
Stunning! It is huge!
They have entered into the Limca book of records; their's being the largest varpu ever made in the world. This measures twelve feet in diameter and weighs 3184 kg! It has taken about 30 skilled craftsmen and 160 artisans to work tirelessly for 13 months at Mannar in Kerala, to bring this dream of the owners of this beautiful shop to possess the largest varpu in the world, into reality!
What an amazing achievement!
The artworks on this vessel are beautiful. You can see beautiful floral patterns cast below the handles. All along the perimeter beautiful lacework is also seen!
HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have paid a Royal visit here recently; the photos are on the wall as well as on their website.
This is a very famous antique shop at Jew Town having unique and priceless items. They sell some spices too; we bought a packet of tea mixed with Cardamom. Awesome tea! More about it in the next post😊
http://www.crafters.in
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22 comments:
Wow, really stunning in size and beauty. I like the reflection. BTW, there is a city named Kochi in Japan. Have a nice week!
Yoko
Cool comment, Yoko !
Yes, I knew it.
Kōchi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture. This prefecture is in the island of Shikoku in Japan, Am I right ? Anyway, very interesting !
Our's is Kochi, this is the city's name in malayalam, our mother tongue in Kerala. Before it was Cochin, this name was used during the British rule in India. Now the place is known officially as Kochi. Fort Kochi is in the western part of Kochi.
Kochi is in Ernakulam district in Kerala state, Southern part of India.
Cheers !
Rajiv, an excellent post!
Wow, this boiler is very beautiful.
Used to great culinary dishes.
Greetings.
Lucia
That's impressive!
Thanks Lucia :)
Beautiful comment !
Yes, it is, Sherry :)
Thank you :)
oh wow!
I had never heard of Varpu, so thank you for telling us about it. This is just a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. How I would love to see it in use. I have seen large pans in streets where they sell food, but they are plain, not wonderful like this.
That is really beautiful!
Nice to hear that they use it for different purposes now:)
:)
Thank you, Jenny :)
Beautiful craftsmanship ! Yes, indeed :)
Yes, it is :)
Modern utensils and vessels are available here and they are very much convenient being lightweight and easy to clean. But traditional vessels are used during occasions that I mentioned.
This is a good thing that people have found out: it improves the ambience :)
Will update the post with a picture of 'uruli' with flowers asap :)
Thank you, Joy :)
Hi Rajiv, very interesting posting. That's new to me, today I learned something new in your blog. The Varpu is very impressive and beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Have a great day.
Thank you, Amelia :)
It was amazing ! They allowed us to take pictures of this unique vessel. Great people !
Cool :)
wow. that is pretty amazing...in size but in craftsmanship as well....
thanks for the education on a varpu as well...
Thanks Brian.
A must see item :)
I've never seen a cauldron that huge. It must feed a lot of people.
I've learnt something new today, thanks to you! Mirror, mirror in the Varpu, who's the prettiest of them all? I'm imagining myself standing right in front & seeing my own reflection :)
Thanks Shirley :)
Actually the reflection that you see there is upon water that is kept inside it. In many places they keep some artificial flowers and leaves like lotus to resemble a pond for added beauty rather than keeping it empty.
Have a nice weekend, Shirley !
I have learned something today. What a stunning piece of craftsmanship.
Thanks Susan !
It was beautiful, so I decided to blog about it.
Have a beautiful weekend, Susan :)
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