What women love the most? Chocolates? Nah! Clothes? Umm..may be but Nopp…!! Ice creammm...Sorry but no again. Oh wait, Is it Jewelry? TaDa...You can’t be more true. Every women on the face of the earth love jewelry. Why earth? Let us reframe. Every women of the Solar system, Galaxy, Universe love jewelry.
Howdy Reader! If you are a woman, aren’t you nodding yeahh? And Guys, you can never understand why women crave for jewelry so much. Women love to look pretty and jewelry helps her in that; period. So, it is not a rocket science and You need not be Einstein to understand it. Jewelry is as important for women as food, air and water. It is not to be surprised to hear that some women want to take their jewelry to the grave. Hufff!! Crazy right?Nahh.. While women wore jewelry whole her life then why not look pretty in and after moments of death too. Well in short women and jewelry are synonymous. Woman is incomplete without jewelry and jewelry is a piece of metal until a woman wears it.
Well, this is about now. But do you know this unconditional love of women has been continuing from the way back? When we ask women about their love for jewelry, we get many excuses. “It is good for health”, “it calms me down”, “I am just taking my culture to next generation”, “My Mum did, so why not me?”. Stop it women! We know the fact behind. Admit it, jewelry fetches you praises and you love the jealous looks of your “frienimy”.
Enough teasing! Now some fact. Let us dig deep in the history of Indian jewelry from demolished civilization to the rulers, from slavery to freedom, from the invention of fire and wheel to levitated platform.
Glorious Past, Glittery Present: History of Indian jewelry
In India, people are little touchy about jewelry. It is more of a symbol of social status than just an ornament. Wait a minute, we just browsed the internet and found, “History of Indian jewellery is as old as the history of the country itself.” No doubt India is at the pinnacle of jewelry making that too ‘top class’. In my family, parents start saving for buying jewelry for their girl child since birth. The culture of wearing jewelry dates back 5000 years. In the stone age, women jewelry consists of stones, flowers, carved woods and wait for it...wait for it..Bones.Euhh. But try to understand, they didn’t had gold, silver, diamond, platinum.
In the medieval age, jewelry fever took over men too. We can find many paintings and sculptures depicting rulers and even common men adorning themselves with the jewelry. We can find mention of quality of Indian jewelry in the Indian holy texts as well as texts composed by various scholars who visited India from various parts of the world. Indian jewelry was not only elegant and exquisite but they carried various stones with the mystical powers. Still you can see people wearing various kinds of rings each for a particular finger to ward off evil eyes. Indian jewelry reached its zenith under Mughals. “Meenakari” embellish jewelry is still considered one of the best.
With the time passing, jewelry became a way of financial security. They were put as savings to be used at the time of financial crises. Later on jewelry became the perfect gift to be given on the greatest events of life- marriage, childbirth etc. India is the mother of a huge variety of jewelry. Each state in India has its own special jewelry. Indian brides have so many options to adorn themselves on their big day. Feeling nostalgic and proud to be born in India.
This was a little peek into history of jewelry minus all the boring details of sculptures found at remains of Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan or some ruler of South or North who loved jewelry or various paintings depicting some kind of jewelry use. Just know one thing,jewelry tradition is as old as India.
From Head to Toe: Jewelry, Jewelry and Jewelry
You must have seen an Indian bride. Ever wondered why is she covered with jewelry from head to toe? Yes, to look ravishing, but every jewelry in India has some hidden benefits and real good reasons to be worn. So let us have a look why women wear what they wear.
Maang Tikka:
What its called in english..?? Umm..head..headjewelry.. Leave, let us stick to tikka only. So, tikka (or borda in rajasthani) is worn on middle parting of hair. This is the position of ‘agya chakra’ which stands for preservation. It signifies union of male and female elements of the universe on spiritual, emotional and physical level.
Nose ring/ Nath:
It is extremely painful to get nose pierced and it is the tragedy of every teenage girl that her mother always nag her to get her nose pierced to be able to wear nose ring in marriage. Nath represents virginity. Scientifically, it helps in breathing. Those women who have their nose pierced experience less pain while delivering baby. Strange...right?
Earring:
It is the most loved jewelry of all. Even if a women do not wear ring or chain or anything, she most probably wear earrings. Why earrings are so important that girl child has to go through the pain of piercing? Piercing sucks, right? Well, to gain something, you have to bare some pain. It is said that the evil spirits enter the body through openings. Ear being a risk for that, wearing earring keep the evil away from us.
The more scientific reason of wearing the earrings is that, it keeps kidney and bladder healthy. A nerve connecting brain to kidney passes through ear. So if your kidney fails and you wonder why?Thats just because you didn’t get your ear pierced. Hah!
Necklace:
To be more specific; mangalsutra, represents the commitment. During marriage rituals, groom ties mangalsutra around bride’s neck which she wear till he is alive. Going on the scientific path, it controls body pressure levels. Did you heard from your old Grandma to keep necklace/chain hidden inside clothes? No, not to save it from thieves but your Grandma is simply genius. The fiction of necklace with the body increases the body circulation thus aiding lowering the pressure levels. And see our Moms, they really have so much work and pressure.
Kamarbandh/ waist belt:
Even if waistbands didn’t do anything than ornamenting and just a piece of jewelry, we would love to see every women wearing it. It is so seductive. But nothing is just a jewelry! Waist belts keep the belly fat in check. For a bride, it signifies the sense of authority in the new house. It is used to carry keys of the house.
Bangles:
Bangles increases the blood circulation level in the body by constant friction. The electromagnetic-energy (Yes, the same EME that spoiled our sleeps in 10th class.. Frown) emitting from wrist is reverted back into the body because of ring shape of bangles. It represents charm, safety and luck for married women. Many mother-in laws gift their traditional bangles to their daughter-in laws saying “HamariKhandaaniNishaanihaiBahu!!”.
Ring:
Many ‘Filmy’ people know the reason of wearing ring on the “ring finger”. It is because the nerve from ring finger runs directly to the heart. The constant metallic friction is good for the healthy heart.
Anklet(Payal/ Pajeb):
It was considered as a protection for women against the attack of evil from “patal”(Hell). The tinkling sound that payal spreads protects her from all negative energies. The more scientific reason is wearing payal do not waste energy while walking, and one’s energy is vibrated into her own body. Nowadays, a new bride wearpayal as the symbol of bringing new happiness and prosperity in the family. Indian women mostly wear the silver anklets.
Toe rings:
It is the ornament only for married women. Toe rings are believed to regularize menstrual cycle. The second finger connects to the bladder and then to heart. Fiction of these while walking, revitalises the reproductive organ and helps a women to conceive. These toe rings are usually of silver because silver is a good conductor of energy that absorbs energy from the ground and refreshes the body.
Gold/Silver/Copper/Platinum/diamond: Is this list gonna end?
Some women like silver, some gold, some are crazy about diamonds. While every metal has its own looks and beauty, they hide a lot more behind all that glitters. Copper is a soft metal and it increases circulation. It increases awareness and consciousness. Wearing copper bracelets reduces arthritis pain. Silver is the most craved metal in India. It regularises blood pressure and act like a pain killer. So Aspirin..Bye Bye...I have silver having my back. So now big brother of silver- Gold. Gold is the most suitable metal for jewelry making. It is not irritating to skin. It represents strength and confidence. People who wear gold are more wise? Well i read that somewhere. Gold opens wisdom chakra. Happy dance...Happy dance...I am wearing gold from just now. Garnet boosts confidence, amethyst increases creativity, amber reduces anxiety, pearls treat depression… This list is never ending. Just grab the essence, Every metal and gem have healing properties.
Oh and See What They are Saying….
"Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles"
Sonja Henie
"I have always felt a gift diamond shines so much better than one you buy for yourself"
Mae West
"I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond"
Mae West
"It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all"
Mark Twain
"The three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering"
Unknown
"I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry"
Rita Rudner
"Diamonds are a girl's best friend and a man's worst enemy"
Unknown
And with the Bang our very Own Bollywood Songs
Mere haathonmeinnaunauchudiyanhainzarathehrosajanmajbooriyanhai…
Chudijokhankihaathonmeinyaadpiyakiaanelagihaibheegibheegiraatonmein…
Jhumkagira re barelike bazaar mein, jhumkagira..haayehaayehaaye…
Paironmeinbandhanhaipayal ne machayashor, sab darwazekardo bandh…
Unglimeinangoothiangoothimeinnagina, tere bin ekbhi din mushkilhogayajeena…
Mujhenaulakha manga de re o saiyaandeewane, tujhe main gale se laga lungi…
Kepagghunghroobaandhmeeranaachi re, aur hum naache bin ghunghrooke....
Bole chudiyan bole kangana, hai main hogayiterisaajna...
This list is never ending too. Bollywood knows the importance of jewelry in indian culture has been cooking the fact very well through these songs. Well, we love these songs and so our jewelries.
Let us keep the conclusion short and to the point. Women we are grateful for having you in our lives, you take care of our family and our house. You deserve some jewelry as they are so beneficial for your health. But please your husband is not ‘Bill Gates’. He can not gift you diamond on anniversaries, birthdays and karwachauth. Stop exploring indianjewelry online, it is out of their budget. So please expect less and have pity on your ‘Becharapati’.
--By
World BecharaPati Association.
Author Bio-
The author of this article holds a niche in writing and knows exactly what to write. He keeps himself updated and provides the information to the readers. He is currently writing on Women Jewellery Like silver ankletsto keep the readers updated.