bits of required length, called aruvai or tuni, at the time of sale. The dealers themselves were called aruvai vanigar and the localities where they lived aruvai vidi. Stitched garments were worn by the people and there were tailors called tunnagarar in Madurai and other big towns. Weaving was not associated with the hilly regions, as the descriptions of life in such regions do not indicate any use of cotton garments. Pearl fishing Pearl fishing was another industry that flourished during the Sangam age. The Pandyan port city of Korkai was the center of pearl trade. But Thoothukudi is used for pearl fishing in these days. So Thoothukudi is now called as "Pearl City". Written records from Greek and Egyptian voyagers give details about the pearl fisheries off the Pandyan coast. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions that "Pearls inferior to the Indian sort are exported in great quantity from the marts of Apologas and Omana". The inferior variety of pearls that the Tamils did not require for their use was in very great demand in the foreign markets. Pearls were woven along with nice muslin cloth, before being exported. The most expensive animal product that was imported from India by the Roman Empire was the pearl from the Gulf of Mannar. The pearls from the Pandyan kingdom were also in demand in the kingdoms of north India. Several Vedic mantras refer to the wide use of the pearls. The royal chariots were decked with pearls, as were the horses that dragged them. The use of pearls was so high that the supply of pearls from the Ganges could not meet the demand. Literary references of the pearl fishing mention how the fishermen, who dive into the sea, avoid attacks from sharks, bring up the right-whorled chank and blow on the sounding shell. Convicts were used as pearl divers in Korkai. Smithy The smithy, or the Panikkalari (literally: workplace), played an important role in the lives of ancient Tamilians (people of Tamil Nadu, India) Some of the essential items forged or repaired in the smithy include weapons of war, tools such as the plough, domestic utensils and the iron wheel. These ancient factories used a blow pipe or a pair of bellows (a turutti) to light the fire that was used for smelting and welding. These workplaces were not numerous, especially in the rural areas. Each smithy catered to