City paleontologist becomes the youngest to learn pearl cultivation in TN

She has become the youngest person from Tamil Nadu to learn various ways of pearl cultivation. “Before the second lockdown, I visited my grandparents in Coimbatore. I heard about a Pearl Farm in Singanallur, Coimbatore. They have a Training and Research Center for Pearl Culture where they teach how to cultivate pearls and start up your business. I was intrigued by the concept of pearl cultivation and called up the centre and asked if I can learn. They didn’t agree initially because of my age. I told them about my work in paleontology and they understood that I am genuinely interested in learning. One of the experts from the centre taught me different stages in pearl culture that included how to select mussels, how to perform surgery on mussels, how to create molds using chemical powder or shell powder,” says Aswatha Biju.

She tells us that pearl cultivation needs a lot of patience because for good results one has to wait for at least a year. “Since we live in an apartment in Chennai, we cannot create pearl cultivation set up. If any schools or institutions come forward, I am happy to conduct a webinar on the same topic,” she concludes.