Chennai

Located near Madurai, Thiruppaacheti is a small town known for making the famous aruval (machete). But not many know how it is made, what the aruval is used for and how it all started. To give a better understanding of all this, Dileep Rangan T has directed a short documentary titled Thirupacheti Aruval. 

“This short documentary follows the makers of the aruval in Thiruppaacheti and their views, perspectives and their story. People know the infamous ‘Thirupaachi aruval’ from films, but they don’t know why the machete is so special. Photographer Amar Ramesh’s social venture Big Short Films has been documenting art and crafts which are disappearing from Tamil Nadu and surrounding places. It was his idea to do a film on aruval makers. I did the research and directed the film. Writers Aparna Karthikeyan, Cho Dharman and historian Meenakshi Devarajan also helped me,” says Dileep Rangan T.

The director aims to educate people on how aruval can be used as a tool and not just a weapon, how it’s used in villages for agriculture and so on.

“Aruval made in Thiruppaacheti is unique when compared to machetes made in other parts of the state. In the film, the aruval makers can be seen saying: The mouth of our machete is clear and precise. The ones you get in the weekly market are made of iron and will bend soon. The parrot nose style is what makes it special,” he adds.

The documentary is produced by Studio A by Amar Ramesh and the cinematography are by Vivekananda Raja and Balamurali Krishna.

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