Meet Solomon, a retired engineer who invented machine to make ‘mala padakkam’

Amballoor: Solomon becomes busy whenever festivities arrive. The reason is he has a special machine with a unique technology that saves time in mending fire crackers Kallookkaran Solomon who hails from Alagappa Nagar in Thrissur district has invented a unique machine for weaving fire crackers into a string (mala padakkam).

The machine invented by the 70-year-old Solomon helps to string the crackers fives times faster than doing it manually. Usually, it would take at least eight hours for the traditional workers to make five garlands of around 1000 palm-leaf crackers. Meanwhile, Solomon says that up to 25 cracker garlands could be made using his machine in as much time.

Solomon who completed mechanical diploma from the Tyagarajar Polytechnic in Alagappanagar worked as an engineer and then as a general manager at a printing and packaging company in Mumbai for over four decades. He had played crucial roles in designing various machinery in profitable ways at the company.