The Peculiar Locks of Dindigul

In India’s Tamil Nadu, some 420km south of Chennai, sits Dindigul. In this city of over two million people, families have slept without a worry for centuries while thieves have been known to tiptoe in fear and desperation. This is the city that began creating unique locks on the request of Tipu Sultan in the 18th century, and has since then garnered a reputation for being the most skilled locksmith of India. A shopkeeper displays a wide variety of Dindigul locks. Photo: Kamala Thiagarajan/Atlas Obscura Locking Back in Time The hardy locks of Dindigul received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag only in August 2019, but the indigenous craft has been around the block for hundreds of years. Like any historical tradition of a culturally replete society, stories of lock-making in Dindigul come in various shapes and sizes, forms and narratives. Many locals will tell you that the lock at the gates of the Rock Fort or Dindigul Malai Kottai was made in Dindigul. Historians and archaeologists differ, but if that is true, the craft has been around since the 17th century when the fort was built by Nayak Kings. During Hyder Ali’s reign, the fort gained great strategic importance, and many say that it was his son Tipu Sultan that commissioned the first tricky lock in Dindigul. Local narratives have been handed down over generations, altering the origin story of this unique art from top to toe. What has remained unchanged though is the meticulous finish of the final products and their foolhardy iterations to suit purposes across fields. Close your eyes and make a wish. Ask for the most complicated lock to deter your enemies. Give it a simple name. By the time you open your eyes, the locksmiths of Dindigul would have granted your wish. The lock-making industry here is full of mango locks, drawer locks, shutter locks, bell locks, trick locks, bullet locks and many more.