The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi
INDIAN GOLD: A WOMAN’S RETIREMENT FUND
People wonder why gold is so important to Indians. In a country where less than 10 percent of the gold that’s sold is currently mined there, the scarcity makes it more valuable. Perhaps it’s also because that metal can’t be destroyed. It can be melted, sure, but destroyed? Never. Which means it has the cachet of lasting forever. It’s easy for artisans to work with the soft metal. And, of course, pure 22- or 24-karat gold contrasts beautifully with olive complexions.
At some point, it is customary in Indian culture for a groom’s family to gift the bride with gold jewelry (her family provides a cash or land dowry to the groom’s family as a way of paying for her upkeep throughout the marriage). Her gold is meant to be sold only in times of hardship. For example, if the husband dies or if the family is in dire financial straits.
Styles of Indian jewelry are as varied as the precious stones used to adorn them. The influence of six centuries of Moghul rule in refining the art of jewelry-making and upscaling the intricacy of the designs cannot be overstated. The most popular style for weddings and special occasions is kundan. Everyday wear includes a pure gold chain and gold hoops or other small gold earrings.
Kundan Style
Kundan is the oldest style of jewelry worn in India. Unlike the “claw” settings for gems in the West, the Indian jeweler sets uncut diamonds, sapphires, rubies and other precious gems flush in the hollow spaces he creates on a solid gold base.
Meenakari Style
Meenameans enamel in Hindi. Meenakari is unlike the enameling work in France, England and Turkey. Indian artisans—under the influence of the Moghuls—decorated gold jewelry with detailed enamel patterns into the depressions they created in the metal. My mother was gifted with a complete set of meenakari jewelry for her wedding, including armbands, by my father’s family. Each piece has her name in enamel.
Seed Pearls
This delicate style was a particular favorite of my mother’s. Film stars in the late ’50s and ’60s started wearing pearls, eschewing gold jewelry, which seemed old-fashioned to them. And my mother chose sets with lots of tiny, tiny seed pearls sewn together to create delicate earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I love them, too!
Calcutta Jewelry (Calcutta was renamed Kolkata)
Artisans take a piece of yellow gold, flatten it, then hammer and detail it to make very intricate but lightweight, delicate jewelry. No stones, pearls or enamel are ever added to the design.
Silver
Like many women of her generation, my mother wasn’t a big fan of silver. Silver is the metal of Rajasthani village women, who often wear multiple silver bangles, silver belts and thick silver anklets. The more silver a woman wore, the richer her family’s status in the village.
My mother was gifted a large amount of silver jewelry by her in-laws, who came from a Rajasthani village.