The legacy of Mr N. Seenivasan Pathar, Ranjinis’ Maternal Grandfather

Mr N. Seenivasan’s story is a powerful reflection of the Tamil goldsmithing tradition in Singapore – a craft built on skill, perseverance, artistry and generations of knowledge.

He arrived in Singapore from India in 1936, at just thirteen years old, joining his father and elder brother. After losing his mother at a young age, he first attempted to learn goldsmithing in India, but later found his true teacher in Singapore: his father’s elder brother, who taught him the craft from the beginning.

For nearly two decades, Seenivasan dedicated himself to mastering goldsmithing before eventually establishing his own workshop. During the Japanese occupation, when jewellery work came to a halt, he worked as a labourer and even joined the Indian National Army as a teenager. After the war, he returned to goldsmithing while taking on other jobs to support his wife and seven children, eventually returning to his craft full-time.

He chose not to use the Pathar* title, yet his connection to the tradition remained deeply rooted in the craft itself – the knowledge passed to him by his uncle and the decades he devoted to perfecting it.

His story captures a disappearing chapter of Singapore’s Tamil heritage: a generation of craftsmen who transformed gold by hand, preserved knowledge through apprenticeship, and built their lives around a craft that demanded both extraordinary skill and imagination.

Extracted and summarised from “Can Survive, La”: Cottage Industries in High-rise Singapore, page 153–155. To read the full story, click here.

* The Tamil term “Pathar” (also spelled “Pattar”) refers to a subdivision of the broader Vishwakarma (or Kammalar) community of artisans in Tamil Nadu, traditionally specialising in goldsmithing and jewellery craftsmanship. The community traces its roots to ancient lineage guilds responsible for much of South India’s temple architecture, iconography and sacred ornamentation.