All that glitters is gold in Indian city famous for jewellery craftsmanship

MADURAI, India -- Behind the glitzy facade of showrooms at Madurai's age-old jewellery bazaar, a labyrinth of narrow alleys leads to dingy workshops where traditional goldsmiths sit by a sizzling stove, melting and shaping the yellow metal into enviable ornaments.

The Tamil epic Silpathikaram says how Kannagi and Kovalan reached the temple town from faraway Poompuhar. It was by selling the legendary emerald anklet of Kannagi in the famous jewellery market of Madurai that Kovalan was to fund their new life.

The tragic turn the epic takes is another story, but it's a vital record that the city's goldsmiths and the jewellery market were always something illustrious. More than 5,000 small and big showrooms selling gold jewellery line the long stretch of South Avani Moola Street today and the bazaar is said to be one of the biggest in the region. But behind the thriving gold business are the hard work, perseverance, and hopes of thousands of goldsmiths who sweat it out all day inside the numerous "pattarai" that dot the area. ...

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