It’s a stochastic process, the making of a wildflower wreath. This one’s no different. We simply chose a bacciferous vine, tough but pliable, and twined around it leaves and flowers with abandon. B...

It’s a stochastic process, the making of a wildflower wreath. This one’s no different. We simply chose a bacciferous vine, tough but pliable, and twined around it leaves and flowers with abandon. But these aren’t any old blossoms; they’re all gem-set, as are the leaves and berries. A spherical- and a lantern-pearl hang respectively from  fleur-de-lis appendages at the top and bottom of the wreath and these alone distinguish the arrangement as a goyna and not a ‘joymala’, though triumphant the earrings certainly are, through and through .

The pancharatna, or five gemstones, we’ve included are, however, not of random setting. That’s fair. You always get to pick the flowers you want in your celebratory wreath. We’ve chosen :

Pearls — to ensure wise and faithful friends.

Corals — for a quick and thorough recovery from any ailment, and to keep you well.

Turquoise — simply for prosperity 

Rubies — to bring you unexpected but delightful guests, always.

Emeralds — for a future to look forward to.

With a wish on our lips for your well-being, we give you the everlasting Pushpa Piyali Pancharatna Kanbala.

It’s on its way to Dubai as we speak. Mrs.Piyali Roy Singh’s been privy to its making right from the time when the blooms were being gathered. The finished wreath, gem-encrusted, was photographed and the picture sent to her. She booked it there and then. Her entrepreneur husband, in Hyderabad now on work, has been couriered the jewel and it’s he who, this weekend, will fly to Dubai with it.

Piyali’s acquiring this for her daughter, Oona. It’s already generational, even before reaching its owner/custodian after whom it’s named.

Handcrafted using traditional joroa techniques and realised as a timeless five-gem ornamental wreath for the ears, the Pushpa Piyali Pancharatna Kanbala is a joyful jewel that makes the ephemeral everlasting, whether it be native flora, happy times, or you. In all its intricate varicoloured beauty, it’s your eudemonia made eternal in precious gems and natural guinea gold.

A lady a few days ago, on this page, praised our designs but also conveyed the fact that all our jewellery was 'heavy' and thus could not be afforded by most. It's a perception, but not one that's ...

A lady a few days ago, on this page, praised our designs but also conveyed the fact that all our jewellery was 'heavy' and thus could not be afforded by most. It's a perception, but not one that's entirely credible. You see, the avoirdupois of a jewel must relate directly to its innate character. Only that much gold needed to effect the desired finish and durability is what we use. No ornament is unduly 'bhari'; likewise, none are lighter than they ought to be. The only qualifying virtue here is the timeless beauty of the jewel that must be secured so that it endures as a cherished heirloom which makes you immortal. There can be no compromises with that. 

Just as a case in point, we give you a couple of earrings which otherwise would not have been featured here; not everything is put on social media. 

Nilavilakku Jhumka

The Nilavilakku jhumka is derived from the traditional three-tier floor lamp from Kerala, inverted. The discs are plain polished, with a beading around the edge of each, and all of them sport the same ball-jhur fringe. A thokai reji cylinder draws from the lamp's finial and beneath it is the large ball-karai drop with its own ball-jhur surround. This completes the ornament. The simple topa pasha with its ring of polished orbs finds definition with the wire flower placed right in the centre of it. 

All in all, a simple but magnificent earring that never loses out on details (note the ridged caps covering the jointing between each disc) but does so in just the requisite weight that might even be called 'light'. 

It's long-ish, the Nilavilakku Jhumka, but it's a lot of other good things too :  neat, splendidly balanced, unpretentious, airy, and striking in its elegance. Also, it's handcrafted by stellar artisans in rich yellow guinea-gold. Virtues abound. Whether they light your lamp is for you to discover.

Ball Bali Jhumka 

Now, this one truly is very light, very slight and very, very useful. The name itself is revelatory : it's a popular jhumka style in western parts of the country, and uses a simple garland of topas that attaches itself to a polished chhata which has a ball-karai edging and a large ball-karai clapper beneath it. Made for constant use, these can eminently be worn to work, and just as easily, alone or paired with a light neckpiece, sported at parties and get-togethers. Here too, there's absolutely no compromise on make and finish, despite the earring's smallness and simple construct. 

These aren't by any measure the only replies to the persistent, but sadly mistaken, notion of our creating mostly 'heavy' jewellery. There are more from where these come, and other goyna as well, that establish the true process of hand manufacturing fine Bengal jewellery. No superfluity can ever be found in our jewels, not by design, detailing, form or weight.

The same can be said about our patrons.

Just about a fortnight ago we gave you the ‘O Tiya!’ Sita-har. This is the matched Kanbala to it. But as Lalu Prasad Shaw's ‘Bibi’ often does in his paintings —— for which he’s so well known and wh...

Just about a fortnight ago we gave you the ‘O Tiya!’ Sita-har. This is the matched Kanbala to it. But as Lalu Prasad Shaw's ‘Bibi’ often does in his paintings —— for which he’s so well known and where she dwells, in the apparent bliss of domesticity, in a genteel family of Raj-era Bengal ——  you can wear just the earrings and pair them with any gold har, though not one that has a pronounced central motif. 

Quite literally replicating the bird from the endearing Pratima Banerjee song 'O Tiya Toré', the Kanbala recreates Bibi’s pet parrot's perch as an exaggerated but utterly simple hoop within which the bird sits smugly, shackled in gold. A finely graduated beading inside the circle and above the bird is the only decoration we see on the Kanbala and even the jhumkas are smaller and flatter because the ‘khancha’ of the Sita-har has been done away with as the parrot now lives on its own terms. Understated and unique, just as the Sita-har is, this pair of earrings is also reversible —— enamelled on one side and chhela on the other —— and you’ll see how that’s done on the short video we’ve enclosed. 

The tops follow the side pieces of the Sita-har, and the bird, realised in chaste naksha, is identical to the one in that jewel. 

The vital detail from the song's narrative in the necklace was the khancha-jhumka ; here, it’s the shikal-chain leading to the leg-ring which ties the bird to the perch. It seems the parrot willingly allows itself to be fettered and when it’s ready to fly simply asks you to remove the chain. And you’ll do that easily by unhooking the shikal and allowing the bird free because you know you love it and that when it has had its fill of the open skies, will return home to you and to the fetters of love because, in the whole wide world and in the heavens above, it’s only here that it resides in anyone’s heart :  yours. 

We all love, at some time or the other, someone, in the romantic sense. When such love remains unfulfilled, or when we find it and it doesn’t last, or when it succeeds but loses its way, we need a friend to talk to. And when it carries us through life without fading, we also need a valuable someone to lend a ear because it seems all too good to be true. The parrot, in this narrative, is that precious friend ; which of course means this jewel and all your favoured jewels remain your truest companions. They listen to you and speak to you and answer to you as well in the silence of their beauty, and when you wear them they tell you of how the beauty within you is revealed for all to witness, for though you may be invisible to yourself, the world then sees you in the true light of your divinity. 

The ‘O Tiya!’ Kanbala is a monastic rara avis of a jewel that does justice to its role of an important accompaniment to the Sita-har but is much more than just that, being in itself an involving ornament which demands the attention you’d give a real friend and truly deserves exclusive rights to your company.

Our jewellery is never about us. They're always all about you. They have to be. Unless they perform the task of making evident your inner beauty, they fail in their core purpose of creation and end...

Our jewellery is never about us. They're always all about you. They have to be. Unless they perform the task of making evident your inner beauty, they fail in their core purpose of creation and end up being merely dazzling articles of wear that when worn attract attention to themselves as valuable articles of the kind of avoirdupois that bestows upon them the epithet 'shonar taal' but do nothing to enhance your pulchritude or catalyse that divine glow which only the beauty within you can ever reveal. 

This kanbala was purpose-made for a young and very accomplished lady who's also a first-time customer. To know her better and how she came to A.Sirkar, here she is in her own words : 

"I am Dr. Namrata Bhattacharya. I am a Gynecologist. Born and brought up in Kolkata, I did my MBBS from KPCMCH and then my MD from AIIMS, Rishikesh. I am presently working as a consultant gynecologist and infertility specialist in a fertility center in Kolkata. 

The little time I find out of work I try to indulge in reading, music and painting. I got to know about A. Sirkar from my best friend, Ricka, who was searching for the best wedding jewellery designs for me . . . like she has done for my make up, sarees,etc. She sent me the Instagram link and I instantly fell in love with the designs. Hence I couldn’t think of a different option for my special day."

We're not going to explain the karigari of the jewel this time. You know much about chasing and thokai and our signature ball-fringes from innumerable earlier posts of this nature and, by now, you're well-versed in the finer nuances of  Bengali jewel-craft. Instead, let's head straight away to the symbolism.

We've used jora-Ilish as the central motif on this bespoke Kanbala, and the profusion of fish is evidence of the Bengali passion for it through most seasons between spring and fall. But, you'd say, the piscine couple is seen during Saraswati Puja in Bangal (as those from East Bengal are known) households, and this has nothing to do with what's held sacred in a marriage ceremony. Also, the fish in question that goes with the 'gaye halud' tattwa is never a hilsa but a pyknic Rui Maach, suitably decorated. Be that as it may, the jora-Ilish is the most powerful symbol of the attributes of fertility and fidelity conjoined. And Dr.Bhattacharya is a gynecologist — the kind of specialist doctor who'd use her science to great effect while addressing the modern woman's concerns regarding fertility, and ensure she puts that unquestionable power of creation squarely in the hands of her lady clients.

"Motherhood completes a woman." — is a statement that seems to have currency still in today's (especially Indian) society though among women aware and in full control of their reproductive health it has no purchase at all. We aren't baby-producing contraptions that can be switched on and off to someone else's will. The way to motherhood and the time for it will be chosen by us.

Regarding fidelity, well, what's there to say? A fish, however, potent in its auspicious connotations, can hardly guarantee faithfulness. Also, in matters of the heart and mind that lead to our expression of the agency of our bodies, we must always own our actions. Time draws back the curtain on things about people who we think we know closely yet are shown we know not at all — in ways good and bad. We weigh that — with our destiny firmly in grip — and decide the narrative of our future. 

Enough said. The pair of fishes and their companions that populate this bespoke kanbala denote what they denote. Our life is for us to live on the terms we set. There are compromises to make without compromising ourselves, defects to accommodate without damage to our souls, and sorrows to bear yet none that we may allow to dim the brilliance of our muliebrity. There's loveliness and joy and fulfilment, too. 

Handcrafted with care and due consideration in pure guinea gold for a young lady (and named, according to tradition, after her) on the verge of a delightful adventure called the 'journey of life', this kanbala, we hope, shall bring her much delight, much peace, and equal parts of happiness and contentment while she forges ahead on the the path to truth and beauty with the full force of her womanhood.

We never got around to telling you this. Our Nandighosha has made America its home. Not long after ulto-rath, it found in Mrs.Sweta Chakrabarti- a patr...

We never got around to telling you this. Our Nandighosha has made America its home. Not long after ulto-rath, it found in Mrs.Sweta Chakrabarti- a patron of rare taste and artistic sensibilities. Not only did she select the necklace but also placed an order for its matched earrings which we had to design and manufacture at great speed (not something we’re known for) for she was to wear it for a gala occasion soon, but even more because she was returning to the States right after.

What she expressly wanted was a pasha that would relate in terms of design to Nandighosha and would be paired with it as a set but without the deity’s physical presence in it — she didn’t want to wear the Lord on her ears.

This is what we did :  the pashas allude to the celestial chariot by recreating its platform in the same thokai scrollwork as Nandighosha.  The ball-jhur fringe has now become ball-beading that protects the two mina-bordered wheels made in exactly the same way as the rath’s. Above the rectangle is a ball trefoil crown that is symbolic of the ‘potala’. It’s all there . . . you’ll feel it — Nandighosha. But from a distance, with the wheels transforming into the Lord’s eyes, you will as well perceive Him. 

Illusions aside, the earrings are just plain fun to wear. Completely removed from the traditional aspects of such jewellery, and wrought with practiced hands in pure guinea-gold, they come across as a unique creation — one that’ll be noticed for sure, loved for sure, and, with the chariot necklace, be blessed as an heirloom instantly. 

Made bespoke for Mrs. Sweta Chakrabarti, the earrings, diminutive but divine, are named in her honour.

There's reason to go bespoke with your precious jewellery if you're of the bent of mind of Mrs.Sutapa Dutta or possess a heart as unreasonably generous as hers. 

Considering these kanbal...

There's reason to go bespoke with your precious jewellery if you're of the bent of mind of Mrs.Sutapa Dutta or possess a heart as unreasonably generous as hers. 

Considering these kanbalas took almost a year to design and make, it's imperative you be introduced to this supremely patient lady whose love for nature, her nature-loving husband (who's as well an avid birdwatcher), and her furry pets is quite strikingly equitable. This is just her second ornament from us and one that she left entirely to us to create.The first, a pendant, was an adaptation of an existing design. 

Here's Sutapa, revealing herself to you in her own words with complete candidness : 

"I live a very ordinary life. I work at an IT organisation, save some, spend more, travel around, eat and just go about.

What’s extraordinary though in my life is the amount of love I am surrounded with. My primary identity is of a proud pet mom, now living with six little fluff balls with their fur sticking everywhere. All our kids have their own unique story, but our greatest joy (although short-lived) has been adopting a senior dog last year. There is nothing sweeter than gaining the love and trust of an oldie. So for anyone planning to adopt, please consider the seniors.

Now back to the ordinary dreams in life: I have been pining for a piece of art designed by Brinda for years. I have always loved  the shape of kanbalas but I wanted one with a bit of whimsy. Thank you Brinda for creating this beautiful piece."

There's much more to say, but Sutapa, self-effacing as she almost dutifully is, would never reveal her manifold virtues beyond her brilliant career and also how truly noble and perseverant she is. Bunch that with her shining perspicuity and you have indeed a lady of peerless character with a personality to match, and a demeanour that's always chirpy — much like the happy birds her husband carefully observes in the vast aviary that a reserve forest or a national park usually is. 

They travel a lot, the Duttas do. And Sutapa's earring "with a bit of whimsy" came about from their sojourns into woods and across verdant hills where birds became a sort of leitmotif — their presence always surrounding the two of them. 

When Sutapa came to order her kanbalas, her only specification was that they should include birds in some way or the other. Of course, the jewel had to be sui generis as well, or why come to us. With that, and with shades of the ShivTara earring (from May, last year) pervading the wild arabesque of flowers and vines with the promised passerines hidden within it, this kanbala came into being. 

Meticulously handcrafted in pierced naksha, the ornament went through three trials in its basic chasing stage before being approved for completion, the crescentic cradle of fragrant phul-lata-pata a peaceful home to a pair of lovebirds, one with pearl and the other with ruby eyes that distinguish them but who are anyways so well camouflaged by the swirling creepers that only someone with a predilection for bird-watching, like Mr.Dutta, will be able to seek them out, that too with a strong magnifying glass instead of the regular binoculars. Or, you can simply enlarge the photograph to locate the birds. 

The pasha heightens the "whimsy" by its rather sentimental evocation of Hans Christian Andersen's spirited 'Nightingale' who sits framed by a golden moon which in turn is framed by a laurel wreath. It's an apotropaic inclusion alluding to the curative song of the bird as it drives away darkness and restores the Emperor of China to health. May this papiya, imbued with the magic of veracious jewel-craft, always keep Sutapa and her family well and give them ceaseless joy and pleasure unending.  

Note how the vines and flowers appear to take root from the dangling pear with its polished ball-karai drop. This calibrates the volume of the kanbala well and extends it with a whisper of a flourish. It also discreetly adds to the 'whimsy'. 

A virtuous guinea-gold aviary, or Pakhiralay, of Sutapa's dreams comes alive with lovebirds — and a special nightingale, who's flown in from a fairy-tale set in the far, far east, to regale us with her songs — and fragrant flowers and rich foliage all rendered in intricate 'perfo'- naksha to adorn her in the way that the highest form of 'prakriti' — woman — should be. What's left is for her husband  to complete her 'shringaar' by fastening the kanbala on Sutapa himself. That way the prakriti-purusha oneness is achieved, sealed by an act of romantic love in which adornment brings them together and makes them inseparable.

A pierced naksha crescentic swing held by gote-ball vines gently rocks from a curvy foliate bracket with a solitary godhuligopal flower on it –– the same that inhabits the falcate moon jhulana but ...

A pierced naksha crescentic swing held by gote-ball vines gently rocks from a curvy foliate bracket with a solitary godhuligopal flower on it –– the same that inhabits the falcate moon jhulana but there with its ample leaves spread like a wreath. A large Kinkhap mobile with an infill of a godhuligopal bud surrounded by radiating sasa-danas and ekkas hints at this being a companion piece to a necklace –– and so it is (the neck ornament will be shown later), though its credentials as a stand-alone jewel are equally strong, especially because of its unique and delightful form. The smallest of things, a polished moondrop, invokes the magical and completes the earring, and is ably supported by the faceted phota of the kinkhap.

Imagine then a superbly chased crescent moon as a swing above which joyfully turns in the breeze a fragrant mobile, all held with vines tied to a lissome stem of the godhuligopal plant. It’s a silvicolous jewel, this, though its regal lineage is evident in its assemblage of splendiferous things and the rich detailing on each of them. 

Only those willing to head to the woods — without sanction but with a spontaneity of heart known only to the most ardent of lovers — to take their place on their moon-swing for a rendezvous with he who is as dark as the night might consider wearing this kind of jewel.

Remember, a rococo romantic heart is a prerequisite to experience the amative magic and wild elegance of a goyna such as the Joonjhulana.

Classic ornaments have a habit of transmogrifying into jewels that inevitably turn out a further classic of no less individuality and pulchritude when the former is customized either by incorporati...

Classic ornaments have a habit of transmogrifying into jewels that inevitably turn out a further classic of no less individuality and pulchritude when the former is customized either by incorporating new details or adding elements or extensions that alter its basic form but without in any way compromising its character.

What bothers the mind here is the tampering needed to rejuvenate or refreshen or re-work a historic jewel but we're especially cautious about never letting the spirit of the original be smothered when the redesign is initiated. In fact, if such a circumstance were to arise where the ornament begins to look less beautiful than what its provenance qualifies it to be, we'd scrap the design and start from scratch, advising the customer of the change and its clear reasons.  

This jhumka-pasha is of a calibrated form taken from the Paroma pasha and the kettledrum jhumka of Zakhm-i-Gul, both subtly changed to suit the wearer and make them miscible to the point where they seem inseparable, as if they were always meant to be together like this. In a sense it's the progeny of both those classics, combining the best of each with focussed styling adjustments (the Zakhm-i-Gul loses its pradip-shikhas to a second row of ball beading because the moroseness from which that jewel was brought forth has been replaced by the delight in life that's the sum and substance of youth ; the Paroma pasha is quite the same but you'll note the naksha to be lighter, the tousled foliage more sinewy, and the pala-pearl jugalbandi replaced by a chuni-panna-mukto combination) that make them cohere semlessly and with elegance so that the fresh new jewel becomes instantly iconic. 

It's been made bespoke for a dynamic young lady of great refinement who was born in Delhi but brought up by a single parent in Calcutta and is a Government-panelled teacher and, more recently, a succesful entrepreneur.  Here's Ms. Bitan Mukherjee — after whom, as tradition demands, the earring is named —  telling us about herself in her own words : 

"My father passed away when I was two years old. My mother singlehandedly brought me up in Kolkata. My schooling is from Bidya Bharati Girls High School after which I read for an English (Hons) degree from Asutosh College of the University of Calcutta. I cracked the School Service Commission examination  and got a job in a Government School in 2009. I love my profession. I love being with my students. In 2017, I began my own event management and wedding planning business called CALENDAR Events. I love to spend time reading books and listening to music ; sarees are my first love and work is my only food for life."

We're deeply grateful to Bitan for choosing us to make her customized jhumka-pasha and pray that it brings her everlasting happiness and contentment. Goes without saying :  GulBitan, from the moment of its creation, has turned out a rightful classic, and in due course of time shall turn into a cherished heirloom as well.

There was a time, remember, when we were all renaissance people, independent of thought and action; when we didn’t subvert our freedom to State or to society or even family if it were one where ort...

There was a time, remember, when we were all renaissance people, independent of thought and action; when we didn’t subvert our freedom to State or to society or even family if it were one where orthodoxy and patriarchy prevailed in a way that made of us a shrunken shadow of ourselves. 

We were wild, but not in a sense destructive or shambolic. The quest was for beauty and for art to be intertwined with the very nature of our existence, each moment adding up to a continuum of life lived in the simple splendour of the perspicuity and veracity of our feelings.
We were wild, and so wildly pursued the truth. 

There’s not much to say about this jewel. It’s a full-kaan that incorporates three styles of exemplary workmanship : pierced naksha, ball-work, and tol-parh cut-work, the last realised in just the same manner in which such ornaments used to be made in the ‘30s and ‘40s. Interpret the anfractuous vines your own way, their flowers too ‘buno’ and varied to warrant definition. The large bloom, displaying its ribbed petals with their curled and polished edges, looks as if it might be magnolia but the him-champa doesn’t have a ruby core.

The scrolling flora turns out bacciferous, endowed with pola and firoza berries, and a single ruby fruit, while the only discipline to the piece comes from the graded ball outer border though even that’s dotted whimsically with turquoise and coral.

Tempus fugit ! Always be aware of that and never not acknowledge it or make it memorable. And don’t ever lose sight of who you really are — your mad and zetetic and truly antinomian self. The Aryanakanak is not just a fine jewel wrought by virtuous hands in rich guinea gold –– it’s also a lovingly and spontaneously carved tocsin in the form of a kaan that whispers in your ear and speaks unafraid to your heart, asking you, in Mary Oliver’s immortal words :   
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

It’s daunting – even thinking about designing something … anything … for someone who’s a masters degree holder in strategic design and management from none other than the legendary Parsons School o...

It’s daunting – even thinking about designing something … anything … for someone who’s a masters degree holder in strategic design and management from none other than the legendary Parsons School of Design, New York. Then, when you gather that’s backed by graduate studies in product design from an eminent institution in Pune, your heart sinks into a pool of anxiety. Still, un-garlanded as we may be by prominent qualifications, we put our heart and soul into it and do the best we can. 

Anushka is from Ahmedabad, the undisputed seat of modern design in India, and her creative streak was nurtured early there at the Zydus School for Excellence. Yet, says Anushka, “I’m a proud Bengali who loves her culture. When I’m not using my strategic design knowledge to solve complex economic and social issues, you’ll find me dancing to a tune or cooking and experimenting with various ingredients. And I love meeting people and listening to their unique stories.”

Needless to say, Anushka’s own story is unique as well but, we’ll admit, she’s even rarer than her story. It’s what made her choose her entire wedding ornaments from us, notwithstanding the distance of west to east, and come especially to place the order. That was almost a year ago. Her bespoke jewels were delivered this Monday.

A few of the ornaments were adaptations and amalgamations of previous designs but the elements chosen to be included or excluded made each a fresh goyna. Yet others were altogether newly drawn — such as this two-tier jhumka — and detailed in a way that made them sophisticated jewels of independent character but perfectly matched parts of the set as well.

The Anushka Jhumka (yes, we’ve named it in her honour, as is our tradition) uses Bengali naksha-work to stunning effect but not before being levelled by the matt-polished topee with its decorative katai brim that sits as the smaller jhumka within the jhumka-within-jhumka form of the earring. Both the tiers have a split-kadam fringe making each delicately tintinnabular.

The precisely-pierced anfractuous chasing, with indulgent floriation, on the larger jhumka contrasts the solid polished surface of the topee, and this juxtaposition of conflicting workmanships is perhaps where the genius loci of this arresting jewel lies.

The discal pashas are huge, almost Dhakai in their girth, and are just as formidable now as they will be when worn alone. The perforated naksha here is more orderly, but the nesting lotuses — from bud to young flower to full bloom — with their aura of orbs make for a stunning display of Bengal jewel-craft.

The earrings are of a palpably free-spirit, quite reflecting Anushka’s inherent personality, though their eminence and elegance are also secure in their form, artistry and functional details, and in their avoirdupois worn with simple grace.

Anushka’s wedding will be in Jaipur to a dashing young gent from Bombay whom she, naturally, chose herself. In that land of fantastic jewels and palaces will arrive a Bengali bride adorned in Bengali jewellery who through a Bengali ceremony will marry a Maharashtrian boy. We’re honoured she selected us to design and handcraft her fine jewellery for this grand occasion. And we wish her the very best in her married life. May her jewels of pure guinea gold bring peace and happiness to her new family and become cherished heirlooms that bestow upon her a radiant immortality.

 In memory of her beloved Dida.
This isn’t our design. It’s a grandmother’s gift of a cherished pendant to her favourite ‘natini’ that we’ve replica...

 In memory of her beloved Dida.
This isn’t our design. It’s a grandmother’s gift of a cherished pendant to her favourite ‘natini’ that we’ve replicated to the latter’s express desire, but as a pair of classic kanbalas. Salutations to the young lady then for her sentiments and her insistence on keeping alive her Dida’s spirit in her fine gold jewellery.

This, though new, is a traditional pierced-naksha makar-mukh kanbala with its splendidly indented flower pasha ringed with a garland of hollow orbs. The little, free-swinging ‘bala’ within the bala repeats the raised topa borders of the earring and also has a ‘mukh’ that’s more leaf-like than something drawn from animal life. The void inside this is calibrated well by the joint ‘ekka’ and topa ensemble.

But enlarge the picture to see the detailing on the 'makars' :  note how the cheeks, hand-frosted using a blunt 'buli', seem pockmarked, in a technique not unlike that used in Pointillist paintings, except this is metal on metal instead of brush-and-paint on canvas. You'll know from this the depth of difference in making.The result : an ornament that isn't merely a likeness of another but one that's been painstakingly recreated employing workmanship identical to that of the sample pendant from more than six-seven decades ago.  

Copius ball-jhur fringing the bottom edge of the kanbala completes the jewel, imparts to it a feel of bohemia, and adds a certain peppiness that borders on the wild. Surely, Riti’s grandmother was an enchantress, in the best sense of that word, a bel-esprit of her time and, through this eternally beautiful jewel, ours too.

Wrought by hand with sensitivity and empathy in pure guinea gold, and finished in a dark antique polish, this kanbala is as much an imperishable testimonial to a grandmother’s historicity, a family’s good fortune, and the rare and noble virtues of a young 21st century lady, as it is an autotelic jewel of exquisite craftsmanship that holds its history with veracity, modesty and splendour in equal measure and makes it versal in a way that's enduringly charming. 
And still there are those who worry about today’s youth!  

With Riti's spontaneous order of this lovely bespoke kanbala in memory of her beloved Dida, the future does seem firmly handmade to last forever with a beauty bright and energetic. Such sensibilities, sentiments and refined taste can only speak of an enlightened generation. Things are looking up! There's reason to rejoice.

So much has been written about the jhumka in Bengali music that one wonders whether any other form of ornamentation of the ear might even deserve consideration in the lyrics of popular Indian songs...

So much has been written about the jhumka in Bengali music that one wonders whether any other form of ornamentation of the ear might even deserve consideration in the lyrics of popular Indian songs. But “Kanbala” doesn’t quite have the ring of “Jhumka” when it comes to rhythm and melody even if the actual ornament stands its ground as arguably the most becoming ear jewel of all. Still, given its nearest western equivalent, the 17th century girandole, lost its currency in the late 1890s, the kanbala has shown remarkable resilience in maintaining its popularity well into the 21st century and seen a remarkable renaissance of sorts in the last few years.  

But not this kind. This one’s a rare Joroa Kanbala pair set entirely with graded natural pearls. The crescentic shape is familiar and the fringe of pearl-embedded pennants speaks of the zeitgeist of the ‘50s and ‘60s when bouffants and georgettes needed substantial jewellery to balance, respectively, their volume and sheerness, the ornaments directing the eye with glitter and movement towards the face and neck and allowing the figure and coiffure with spontaneous grace to form a vinculum bordering on the statuesque. Such a lavish but tasteful bonding of apparel, hairdo and fine jewellery is all but unseen nowadays. The sensibilities that balanced reserve with outrageousness and always ensured the sensual remained within the boundaries of refinement seem to have dwindled into a clinquant showiness consumed with glee by the virtual world of the internet.

The wreath of flowers and foliage within the crescent is pure cut-work done with a goldsmith’s hacksaw and file, and the gems are all pavé set. The alignment of the blooms is of special interest :  See how the pasha, free-hanging drop, and the central blossom in the wreath all vertically fall in line. They’re the same flowers realised in carefully calibrated sizes to ensure the proportions of the kanbala are aesthetically faultless. And the polish, left natural yellow guinea-gold, does well to bring out the best in the stones and their recherché setting. Adapted from a diamond Kanbala wrought in white metal, these earrings that effloresce charmingly in pearls and gold are a debutante in the world of Bengal joroa jewellery but remain so disarming in their elegance and joyousness that they become instant classics and sure-shot heirlooms. 

Only someone brave of heart and free of soul would order this. And so we come to the illustrious Ms.Maitreyee Das of Chicago who, through persistent Instagram interactions, thought it fit to have this created specially for her. Her mother, in Calcutta, took delivery of the Kanbala on her behalf.

Here’s Ms.Das, a passionate athlete, loving mother, wildly successful professional, and effortless cosmopolite, in her own words:  

“I am a Research and Development engineer in Nokia in Chicago. I live in Chicago and am an electrical engineer. I do lots of hikes all over the world like in Europe, Chile, Argentina, USA, Peru, India. I run full marathons. I have run full marathons in Chicago, New York, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo and will be running my last of the six world major marathons in London in October. I am trained in Bharatnatyam dance and have performed many times. I have been following you on Insta for a long time and love your designs.”

 The jewel has been named after Maitreyee. It’s what we traditionally do for all fine jewellery made bespoke for you to new designs or those that have been extensively innovated upon. It’s also her first goyna from us. We thank her for her trust and patience and custom and wish these distinctive mukto-kanbalas give her endless happiness and peace. May the strength of her femininity be complemented by the jewel and may generations to come find the power of her will and feel her intrepid spirit in them.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
This is intended to be a Spot the Difference puzzle for you since you know our handcrafted ornaments well and have been further famil...

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
This is intended to be a Spot the Difference puzzle for you since you know our handcrafted ornaments well and have been further familiarised with them over the past eight odd years that we've been on Facebook. 

Look carefully at the given photograph. It shows you what you assume to be the Mayurpur 'Jhapta' Earring. In fact, for all intents and purposes it is. But there are vital differences in detailing and form that will be apparent when you compare both intimately. These you have to reveal and describe. We'll help you a bit with that: 

Regarding the form, this jhapta dul is longer, four-and-a-half inches top to bottom, and the crescentic tiers are narrower, more compressed, making the earring slender and elegant but without the coverage of the original.

That's the wonder of bespoke jewellery: much more special, more emotion driven, more symbolic, and ultimately more rewarding than any kind of made-to-measure ornaments, and worlds apart from the readymades. Even while ordering your favourites — and the Mayurpur Jhapta Dul certainly is one — the details can be tweaked to make the ornament specific to you while universal in its beauty. This dazzling four-step naksha earring epitomises that unique characteristic of bespoke handmade jewellery.

REGULATIONS
Now, what  you have to do is spot all the differences in detailing between this and the original Mayurpur Earring that we'd posted here on 27th August, 2015 and describe them individually for us. To make things easier, we'll tell you how many such differences there are : three — so that you don't go hunting for them with a microscope. Let us know the three differences in detailing in words of your choice that have to describe in full the variations. There can't be any shortcuts here. You have to be specific.

*Just to perk things up, three of the correct answers, the names chosen through a lottery, will each be awarded a single guinea-gold coin of one gram. 

*Only one answer per friend will be accepted and any edit on the answer will automatically disqualify it, so we request you organise your reply before posting it. 

*For inclusion in the lottery, answers can be given in till midnight (IST) of Tuesday, 17th May, 2022. All answers to be sent to our Inbox, please.

*The comments section will be open for your general observations but the SPOT THE DIFFERENCE answers will have to be inboxed. 

Things are looking up across the world. We thought we might, in a very small way, share the hope and joy going around with just a touch of gold. Also, this isn't some marketing gimmick involving tawdry gifts. We respect your artistic acuity and your taste ; also your innate aesthetic sensibilities. You know how to separate wheat from chaff, just as you know God's in the details. It's those details that you, with your discerning eyes, will examine here. 

Have fun! And Best of Luck to You.

Sometimes I wear these earrings on their own ; not with the guluband. When he's on a campaign far away and I have no reason to wear a necklace to bed, I let the presence of his absence distill itse...

Sometimes I wear these earrings on their own ; not with the guluband. When he's on a campaign far away and I have no reason to wear a necklace to bed, I let the presence of his absence distill itself onto my bare neck. Solitude is no less an ornament for those who've grown to love while wanting not to.

The magic tree, in its intricate pierced naksha, is as alive as ever, its gravidity bright and palpable. I can feel the flowers bloom : the rubies, turquoise, pearls, corals and emeralds all decorating the plant with an ethereal vividness. But more than the beauty of the garden, it's the psittacene drama that I find rapturous. The royal parrots — their ruby eyes alert and sparkling — that have always so dutifully guarded the guluband's three panels are here no longer at their posts and now perch atop the ratna-briksha in a partnership so perfect that it can only be borne out of love. 'Love over duty?' comes to mind, a reprimand forms itself, and is almost immediately followed by 'Perhaps, love is duty.'

The parlour window opens to a vast vista of an unending range of verdant hills with a single meandering river causing a spectacularly anfractuous valley to wind through its centre. The palace, high on its own mound, is scarcely in touch with the teeming humanity that enlivens the village far below. Yet, every afternoon I wait till the mauve cloud goes by for the bishudi to raise its distintive timbre to the wind. There's a longing to the sound that my heart seems to find a strange affiliation with. But when the nagara answers the flute with playfully amorous energy, its roll reverberating across the undulating landscape as if to return to the hills their lost heartbeat, mine too quickens to its pace, lifting me away from my seclusion and casting me among the womenfolk of the town, dancing with them and singing in merriment the Laman songs of simple love. To match the rhythm of the music and singing, I flick the ghungroos on my earrings and willingly go into a blissful trance.

I wear parts of his umlakh, his crown, him, as my personal adornment. The three chains that affix the panel to the helix of my ear are needed to ensure the jewel never comes undone. Though far, far away, he stays close, whispers sweet nothings that are everything to me. Filtered through the guinea gold floriation of the frieze, I hear his love. And I feel his fragrant breath on mine. 

"Radhe! Firmly reject this shrewd son of the king of Vraja, O immoral girl! Listen! Don't be weak! I'm saying it for Your own good. Don't submit to Him!"

Such advice from her loyal sakhi Lali...

"Radhe! Firmly reject this shrewd son of the king of Vraja, O immoral girl! Listen! Don't be weak! I'm saying it for Your own good. Don't submit to Him!"

Such advice from her loyal sakhi Lalita may not have fallen on deaf ears but did precious little to alter the course of the love to end all love or, if you will, the love above all love.

This karna-veshtana is evidence that the modern-day Radhika Gupta — for whom her husband, Tridib, got the jewel made bespoke for their anniversary — is as much in love with and is equally loved by her life partner as the Radha of Indian mythology.

In Dubai the two of them, with their fiercely talented daughter Dhriti, have now made their home after Tridib’s international finance-management career saw them travel across four countries through the last ten years. That blazingly successful stint makes Radhika just as much Mahalakshmi for she, no doubt, has been the greatest contributor to her husband’s remarkable ascension. A graduate first-class and a B.Ed to boot, Radhika has not only been a popular teacher but a guiding force as well behind her daughter’s emergence as a brilliant pianist.

This kaan was ordered a year ago. Taking its design cues from the Kumudini Kaan-Jhumka of 2017 vintage, it differentiates in its meticulous detailing.

A single enlarged halud-chameli takes pride of place surrounded by sweet sandhya-malatis and a rose sprig. The anfractuous floriated infill is protected by a line of naksha-topas which again is bordered by a continuous row of water snowflakes (this feature’s from the earlier jewel). All of this is framed by an uninterrupted edging of orbs with tin-karai finials.

The jhumka, with its two-tiered ball border and single ball-jhur fringe is a perfect match for the kaan, it’s domed form decorated with scrolling naksha the flowers and foliage of which resemble those of the kaan but which have deliberately been varied ever-so-slightly to ensure the jhumka succeeds just as spectacularly on its own with any pasha of your fancy.

This is not the stuff of clinquant romance. Guinea gold jewels such as these connote love everlasting of the kind that makes spiritual the very act and action of love-making. The ornament covers the entire ear and, as the karna-veshtana, becomes part of Radha’s floral adornment.

Realised entirely in virtuoso pierced-naksha, the Radhika Kaan-Jhumka is for all you who believe in transcendental love and are willing to submit yourself to its gloriously liberating, even transformative, force. It’s what made a mischievous Radha Gupta become the beauteous ‘Radhika’ — a name given her by her devoted husband in pure affection, and by which she allows only him to call her. 

In August last year when we released the Gulistan Choker there weren't any matching earrings to it. It's heartening to know then that when at last a pair was made, it was a pasha and not a dangler ...

In August last year when we released the Gulistan Choker there weren't any matching earrings to it. It's heartening to know then that when at last a pair was made, it was a pasha and not a dangler or kanbala or jhumka, and was created bespoke for a young lady who'd selected Gulistan and felt a companion piece for the ears was imperative.

That pashas are no longer considered to be fuddy-duddy accessories is evident from the fact that we've been doing an increasing number of them as stand-alone jewels or matched to necklaces of various kinds — all for young girls, and many of them to-be brides. That alone is a very comforting thought — that the timelessness of certain kinds of fine hand-wrought jewellery is now being acknowledged universally. There's hope for Bengal jewel-craft as a valuable decorative art form, still.

The pasha's a simplification of the Gulistan choker's primary articulation of a rose garden — there the Gulistan of Sa’di of Shiraz reimagined as the poet's fragrant golap bagan : "rich with meaning, fragrant with wisdom, and glorious in its articulation of a ‘Gulistan’ as the paradise we choose for ourselves when we walk the path of truth and beauty." — that here becomes a guldasta of three fresh roses mixed with acanthus sprigs and sundry vines. There's no more space for further articulation and the chased rope and ball border both frame the bouquet well while the meticulously crafted pierced naksha makes certain the roses can be smelt.

There's merit in that. The young — like Sampanna for whom this jewel was made and after whom it's named — are virtuous. They've woken up and smelt the roses. And then chosen to immortalise them in pure guinea-gold as a recherché jewel. In doing so, they've, knowingly or unknowingly, immortalised themselves.

The start of many a family's history can be traced back to a single extraordinary goyna. Sampanna is of just that kind. 

The Ramnagarer Shonar Haathi Sita-Har, the one we opened the year with, finds its companion piece at last in these earrings. The necklace took fourteen months in manufacture; this, sixty days more....

The Ramnagarer Shonar Haathi Sita-Har, the one we opened the year with, finds its companion piece at last in these earrings. The necklace took fourteen months in manufacture; this, sixty days more. Of those, just to prevent the elephants turning inwards required three experimentations with stringing and finally the weighing down of the pachyderms by filling them with golden lac.

The pearl strands interspersed with gold ball-beads echo those of the necklace and the pashas are the Sita-Har's side-pieces. Everything's identical (and made to relevant scale) save a small detail : the elephant's pearl-strung anklets have here become ones that sport triple-pearl jhurs. Also, the pearl string on the headdress has been done away with because the gathai-mukto emerges directly from the haathi and a pearl crown would've crowded things up unnecessarily.

The length of the earrings is generous and they'll likely be shoulder-dusters for many. The good thing is that you can alter the length to your need by just adding or removing pearls from the five strings. For a change of colour, you're free to re-do the strands with precious gem beads of chuni or panna or blue sapphire, if you so wish.

It's significant, the posting of this piece today. It's Sunday and not yet daybreak in Calcutta. And it's not the Pujas, but we imagine it to be. Maa Durga, when she returns to her Kailash abode on a Robi-baar will do so on her assigned vahana. But we've readied the Ramnagarer Shonar Haathi for her. She can't possibly refuse. Travelling on this regal elephant she'll bring peace and happiness and prosperity to all in this world.

And when the jet engines start up and the elegant aircraft in its white livery taxies towards the runway, the Dum Dum airport old terminal tearfully waving goodbye, and the pilot announces much too fast and in a rigorously rehearsed voice, "Ladies and Gentleman, As-Salaam-Alaikum! Welcome on board this Emirates flight EK571 to Dubai . . .", we'll know it's not a Boeing 777 she's seated in but on our Shonar Haathi that's grown wings and will fly her to the Middle East and then to England safely and pleasantly. Throughout the way, and back in her island residence, she'll know she dwells truly in the garba-griha of our heart, and that this is her home, her real and beautiful home that she must soon return to, and one day, also soon, return to forever. 

After that barrage of recaps during the Dhanteras–Diwali period, a return to sanity warrants an ornament small but significant. Here’s a jewel modelled on the traditional ‘tarkulia’ surya-motif sil...

After that barrage of recaps during the Dhanteras–Diwali period, a return to sanity warrants an ornament small but significant. Here’s a jewel modelled on the traditional ‘tarkulia’ surya-motif silver discal earrings from Central India but given an elaborate if serene jhumka, that’s detachable, to enhance its power as a stand-alone goyna.

The openwork central boss has chhela wire rays radiating out from the single naksha sunflower. Around this is an ekka-tar surround and then a halo of graduated double orbs. That's three kinds of karigari commingling effortlessly to give us the pashas.

The jhumka is a mirror-polished dome capped with a large katai-flower. The critical aspect of it is that the plain surface reflects light dramatically, becoming in itself a sun-like entity. A ring-reji border and two rows of big-and-small ball beads reflect the idiom of the ‘tarkulia’ pasha and then a notched bezel enables the captivating double-row single-ball fringe that makes the pasha and the jhumka cohere with the natural harmony of their designs. Yet both parts are eminently wearable as separate ornaments, the jhumkas with any plain gold tops.

To support the ‘tarkulia’ from leaning away from the ear and to ease any stress that the downward pull of the jhumka might exert upon the lobe, a simple pearl and gold tana is provided that is also detachable, the rings (adjustable) fixing to the earring posts while the hook clamps on to the helix to keep the ensemble firmly in place. The pearls on the tana can be changed to chains if you want an all-gold look but just a touch of mukto never appears out of place on a fine gold jewel.

There’s no overt heliolatry required of us to make this splendid ‘tarkulia’– jhumka our own. The surya is an enduring motif in all our cultures. In this distinct jhumka-pasha, the solar symbolism becomes us. In harnessing the power of the sun –– the fact that it's the source of light and life –– the jewel brings about a oneness of nature with us women as the vital creative force of the universe. 

More than five years after we’d featured the Pillsbury Necklace on this page, comes this pair of matched earrings in the form of lahari kanbalas.

This time it’s in season. The necklace was “o...

More than five years after we’d featured the Pillsbury Necklace on this page, comes this pair of matched earrings in the form of lahari kanbalas.

This time it’s in season. The necklace was “our interpretation of the very western cardigan clip or sweater guard/pin or shawl clasp that’s actually pretty old school jewellery, introduced in the 1950s to hold caplets and open-buttoned cardigans together using two brooch-like ends over attached alligator clips bridged with decorative chains.” But that jewel was introduced to you in August, 2017, in the middle of a rather humid monsoon. Today's is bang in the middle of winter.

It’s not as if the jewel needed matched earrings ; it could be worn with a whole plethora of kan-pashas or jhola-duls in similar workmanship. Also, because of the chains playing such a central role in the construct of the necklace — they’re what the eyes rest on — it can have matched earrings of any kind.

For this design, we chose to replicate in miniature the necklace in the lower arrangement of the kanbala. What you see is the four bichha-ball chains suspended between two inverted kalkas, still containing three kinds of karigari— reji-paktar, Manipuri, and, instead of katai, ball-work. The ball edgings are staggered differently on both sides of the chains with a difference in ball-sizes as well and a single large ball-drop is seen to hold centre-stage right at the bottom. This ball is reflected in the one hanging from the kalka pasha which falls between the plain bichha chains that act as suspender cables for the lower arrangement.

The paisley pasha is detachable and can be worn separately. When the kanbala’s desired, you simply have to affix the chain-kalka segment.

To its merit, the kalka-ball pasha as a stand-alone jewel may not be lavish but certainly is no pushover either. When worn independently, it functions well as an ornate ear ornament, both distinct and sophisticated. With the kanbala, it’s simply scintillating.

These are earrings that ingeniously use a trio of paisleys, some simple chhela chains, and a couple of ball-drops to create a matched masterpiece to a well-received but differently-ordered necklace, and at the same time to birth a rara avis of a kanbala that foregoes all the usual tropes of such an iconic ornament form and establishes a clear-cut idiom for itself. The Lahari Kanbala, with this Paisley Pillsbury model, has entered the pantheon of modern classics in handcrafted fine gold jewellery from Bengal by redefining what a true-blue kanbala can be. 

Often enough we’re asked to design to match an accessory to a main ornament and sometimes, though rarely, the other way round as well. In both cases it’s important to study the ornament with which ...

Often enough we’re asked to design to match an accessory to a main ornament and sometimes, though rarely, the other way round as well. In both cases it’s important to study the ornament with which the new jewel is being paired for nuances of style and workmanship to ensure a cogent design that, if not enthralling, will at least be remarkable, and replete with individual merit. But such qualification of stellar craftsmanship is not enough –– the jewel also has to suit the wearer-owner.

This stylized butterfly has for its jewelled wings the carefully reproportioned scrolling motifs of the segments flanking the centrepiece of the joroa collar to which it has been commissioned to be a matched earring.

We’re grateful for any order from you, always. But if we don’t exceed your expectations, and surprise and delight you with what we create bespoke for you, the very basis of your decision to come to us in the first place is lost.

We were asked to make matched earrings : we created aliferous ones! – Style. We were asked to make matched earrings : we decided upon kanbalas! –– Form. We were asked to make matched earrings : we replicated the swirls, the stones (and their combination) and the pavé setting –– Technique.

A butterfly, symbolic of your elegant freedom, came into being, despite not being requested, playfully floating on its plain bichha restraints, its antennae curled into collets of red stone, its proboscis unfurled, ready to ingest the sweet nectar of universal admiration.The body is encrusted with bands of the same red stones, and a single drop dangles spontaneously from it just as the one from the cluster top does, though, in the latter, there’s a rice pearl affixed as an extension to it that brilliantly modulates the space between the chains.

In life, we get to choose the colours with which to make vibrant our time on earth. It’s the butterfly’s fate to be only red and white and that too a white from cubic zirconium and a glassy chemical red because that's what the necklace is set with. Had we had the lenience, we’d have decorated it in zircon, rubies and pearls. Still, it’s bright and beautiful, and imbued with an infectious reverse biophilia –– it seems to love humans and truly comes into its own only when at home on a human ear. And from there it wants to travel places not just to see but to be seen.

Unlike the actual projapoti with its short life span, this joroa version in exquisite cutwork is ageless. And it makes you immortal too by embodying your spirit in the everlasting beauty of its guinea-gold craftsmanship.

When it willingly forsakes its freedom to give you wings, you know jewels of such virtuous character can only become heirlooms, most cherished, loved and revered. 

A Loreto girl, Mili Mary D’Cruze was destined to lead. There wasn’t any ‘climbing the corporate ladder’ for her because she made certain she started at the top, as an administrative officer in a bl...

A Loreto girl, Mili Mary D’Cruze was destined to lead. There wasn’t any ‘climbing the corporate ladder’ for her because she made certain she started at the top, as an administrative officer in a blue chip company. Wildly successful, she still held close a secret passion, preventing it from detracting her from her shining career in industry. Not for long. Love came by and swept her off her feet. The joys of motherhood followed, and her infant daughter, Avisha, proved epiphanic. Mili Mary’s love for fashion and decoration now seemed to pull her away from her job and the feeling deep within that her creativity needed a language, both unique and universal, to converse with a wider world began to get stronger and more athletic. She took the plunge. Naming her online store after her child, Avisha’s Couture became, instantly, the darling of discerning women who found tastefully niche apparel, accessories, and decorative articles now within easy reach. The boutique store, housed in Mili Mary’s own marvellous home, has become quite an internet phenomenon, and the feisty, beautiful lady is indeed holistically living her dream.

Facebook brought Mrs.D’Cruze to us. She wanted to order for herself the Punkah Necklace that she’d seen on our page but for the earrings desired a full–Kaan with Jhumka, made bespoke.

The idiom for the Kaan needed to be the same as that of that iconic neckpiece but evolved to address Mrs.D’Cruze’s commanding and creative character. She’s a warrior, she is. At once fiercely independent, a caring wife, and doting mother who had the courage and confidence to close the curtains on her lucrative corporate career, marry for love, bear a child and bring her up (she’s five years old, now) with undivided attention, and then dramatically draw open the drapes to reveal a beautifully decorated world where she’s the heroine who takes centre stage and addresses the audience in a voice as powerful as it is pulchritudinous — her fulgent feminacy stands out as the innate character, the indestructible armour, of a true champion.

As such, when the kaan was designed, it morphed the tender shape of the punkah to that of a bow. The delicate fretwork, enamelled touches, and the seed pearl border all remain, but they’re now compressed into the firmness of a 'dhonuk'. The five-petalled flowers in maroon mina, with pearl centres, help admit thoughts of peace but the taut kamal-chain bowstring, with a single pearl in the middle, stakes claim to the brave warrior whose jewel this is. When they’re needed, the unseen arrows shall be dipped in love or war.

The kettledrum jhumkas are identical to the matched ones originally paired with the necklace.

Hand-wrought in rich guinea-gold and drawn in design with Mrs. D’Cruze’s unflagging strength of spirit as an inspiration to all of us independent women, the ornament is as unique as Mrs.D’Cruze unequivocally is. We are honoured to have had the opportunity to create a rare jewel for one who stands tall in her practice of 21st century Indian womanhood. The kaan-jhumka, naturally, is named after her.

Here, in her own words, is Mrs. Mili Mary D’Cruz.

“I follow A.Sirkar jewellery. Just love each creation and the creativity in general. Punkah was one of my favorites but I wanted something different and desired it to be designed by Brinda-di. It is said that when one has a strong desire for something and truly yearns for it, she/he will get it. And so, indeed, it happened that my Kaan was designed by her magical hands. It's like ‘tapasya kore paoa’. Just in love with it.”

More than three-and-a-half years after the Juna Mahal choker was presented to you here, come these rather reserved, matched pashas with two pairs of passionate parakeets again spi...

More than three-and-a-half years after the Juna Mahal choker was presented to you here, come these rather reserved, matched pashas with two pairs of passionate parakeets again spirited away from the Aam-Khass of that remarkable palace in South Rajasthan.Dungarpur

It's a challenge making an ornament from an ornament in a photograph from a printed magazine or its digital version, even it's someone as legendary as Madhuri Dixit wearing it, and especially becau...

It's a challenge making an ornament from an ornament in a photograph from a printed magazine or its digital version, even it's someone as legendary as Madhuri Dixit wearing it, and especially because we, as a rule, do not replicate things from others' designs and only make an exception when you ask us to do so.Given that the photograph, in this case, was a hazy reproduction of the star wearing a certain kind of earring that we were asked to reproduce, the challenge became even more interesting considering the interpretations of form and details we'd have to resort to in order to create more than recreate what was there. And so we did. As what's here for you to see is whether we've been able to do justice to the original and forge ahead and bring forth a design so individualistic yet universal that no one but the most skeptical should disapprove.

Spot the difference between the two and your journey towards infinity begins right here, right now. Otherwise, everything follows the goyna in the photograph, albeit to our interpretation.

A cascade of chains emerges a chandrapuli of fine handcrafted patterns put together in the form of a half moon, at the centre of which there's an ekka-wire sun that doubles up as a pasha. The semi-circular fanlight echoes the chandrapuli shape and has a stone at its heart but is not stone-hearted by any measure.There's flexibility, sophistication, and a certain kind of licentious charm about the earrings and it dazzles when worn. Add to that the pizzazz inherent to the ornament, especially if you're dancing in them, and be sure these will be the showstoppers at any do in or out of town.

There's a secret the earrings harbour but we're not at liberty to tell you that. Just enjoy the guinea-gold jewel and by noticing every bit of it, uncover its mystery. Suffice it to say that when you do, you'll be filled with wonder.

We could name this after Madhuri Dixit considering the actual photograph is of her, but the more we think of it the more we feel Helen stirring within us. She's the one who'd carry this off best, is our opinion. So, we've christened her 'Helen' instead.

The indescribably beautiful matched earrings to the Sraboni choker of January, 2017 and Kukubha Ragini Necklace from August of the same year, this exotic jewel deserves a separate article on it see...

The indescribably beautiful matched earrings to the Sraboni choker of January, 2017 and Kukubha Ragini Necklace from August of the same year, this exotic jewel deserves a separate article on it seeing how popular it's been over the last couple of years. Everything's intact : the identical "naksha jora-mayur" from the centrepiece of both necklaces, and the "double-muchkunda phul jhumka", the detailing of the ball-karai border, and the familiar reddish polish. That leaves us the tops : an excellent example of how, even if you're dealing with the most iconic of ornaments and making a pair of earrings matched to them, you should never go by the rule book, but instead design something that alludes to the main goyna, while at the same time being of such bold currency that it works as an independent jewel as well.

And so it is that the earring succeeds spectacularly on both counts, and this is in no small part due to the katai-reji-paktar eye-shot (of a peacock's feather) tops that are individualistic in form yet integrated of purpose.

Those you who love amorous peacocks might want to consider these earrings with or without the necklace/s. Either way, you'll be ready for love.

“A legendary matriarch of the House of Naksha is reborn as a beautiful young girl, hand-wrought in pure guinea gold using techniques and instruments of trade more than a century old, and care...

“A legendary matriarch of the House of Naksha is reborn as a beautiful young girl, hand-wrought in pure guinea gold using techniques and instruments of trade more than a century old, and caressed into shape by loving hands that have kept the great heritage of Kolkata goldsmithery alive and well through a hundred years and hopefully, with your appreciation and patronage, will nurture it to the highest office among all Indian craft where it shall dwell happily ever after.” This is what we wrote as the end statement to the Navina Naksha Pendant in September 2017. It applies here as well as this pair of earrings is nothing but the progeny of Navina.

Being the identical twins as matched earrings to that timeless jewel, The Navina Naksha Dul is nothing new yet new. The double crescent with the traditional floral chasing on each is replicated but the padma pasha has a graduated lower surround of ball beads instead of the pearl-embedded chaktis of the pendant.The roundels, in this case, have thick posts behind the central flower in each to ensure the earrings aren’t pried out of the pierced earlobes because of the downward pull of the naksha crescents with their pearl-ball fringe and the polished jhumkas with their big drop-pearl clappers. The naksha motifs, triangular wire-ball scallop and the jhur-jhumka arrangement remains unchanged from the pendant.

It’s not as if a matched pair of earrings of the same scale is necessary to complement the Navina Pendant. In fact, not so at all. If anything, the pendant is a stand-alone jewel and these earrings are, too. Sometimes, we grow to love an ornament so fully and with so much of our soul invested in it that we feel we need to complete it by having a parure made of the same design. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a wonderful and, actually, prudent thought. Over time, bit by bit, you could add the handswear, tickly, and, if you so like, a khopa jewel as well. It's a ceaseless delight to include in life, at reasonable intervals, intensely personal effects as beautiful as these. A deserving ring or a single ratan-choor also would not be out of place.

There’s a critical aspect to this enterprise, though. The naksha-wallah who did the original must complete the later ornaments as well. Different hands wouldn’t have the same nuances of chasing and the identical motifs would feel at variance with the original, albeit minutely so. But you’re an expert at this now, a connoisseur of naksha and other kinds of recherché workmanship that make Bengal jewellery the institution it is. You would never compromise on the details. So, remember, don’t take too much time to get the whole set done. Virtuoso naksha-wallahs are rare. And mercurial as they are, their undiluted love for the art of chasing cannot be doubted or discounted. You will make your handcrafted guinea-gold masterpieces within your lifetime, yes, but be certain as well to make them within theirs.

Great beauty at times comes from a heavy heart. Flowers, in whatever form, have a habit of sharing our joys and sorrows, and the rose among them foremost in presenting itself in life and in death w...

Great beauty at times comes from a heavy heart. Flowers, in whatever form, have a habit of sharing our joys and sorrows, and the rose among them foremost in presenting itself in life and in death with equal charm and that distinctive fragrance that pervades just as much the wedding night as it does life's last journey.

Often enough, we're hurt by those close to us in ways we'd never have foreseen, so near were we to them that the larger picture, so to say, was far removed from our view. Then again, there are moments of shattering loss and betrayal we are not prepared for and the meaning of which we find not prehensible, however much we try to come to terms with them.

It's terrible to be reductive about such things and dismiss them as 'a passing phase' or just brush them aside with empty platitudes about 'clouds with silver linings', 'after the rain comes the sun', and so on and so forth. No, we have to deal with them here and now.

Choose an ornament for yourself that'll be your panacea during such times. It could be anything, big or small, old or new, an heirloom or of special make, but easily wearable, that you feel good in, and one which must answer to you and hold within it the magic of uplifting your spirits in dour and dark phases of your life. Write your own story and let that jewel be the deus ex machina that steps in to set things right for you.

You've seen most of what's on this page as other independent ornaments. Here, the rose plaque with ball beading becomes a pasha from which the plain kettledrum jhumka is suspended. There's ball beading on these too but below them hundreds of pradip shikhas light the reflective domes and cast upon you the undying glow of happiness. The pierced naksha of the foliage on the disc is rich, yet the rose is wounded and hurting. But not for long. She'll revive, alright, and live to tell the tale of her triumph over life's usual trials and tribulations, and leave behind a memory trail of personal glory and love fulfilled.That's a given.

We are all ourselves, at some point of time, the story of the wounded rose. As the Zakhm-i-Gul of the title, we mould and strengthen ourselves in pure guinea gold and beckon the positive to come and merge with us as we cast far away from our minds the poison of blackness. If jewelry of truly sinless provenance should have the power to work wonders for its wearer, so should you have the same good magic deep within you to draw upon to realise how truly beautiful you are at any time, in any circumstance, anywhere. We are the Guls that never wither, never die. Our immortality is writ large across infinite timelines through which we live as we live and then live on as shining memory.

Your pansophy, and thus your greatness, is for all to see.

"I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short term weapon." --- Tom Stoppard

We don't know about the short term bit but, for ...

"I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short term weapon." --- Tom Stoppard

We don't know about the short term bit but, for certain, Mrs. Anisha Bhaduri's potent weapon of a pen has seen many battles, that mostly she's won, across the pages of Hindustan Times, The Statesman (where she spent a decade, half of which was as News Editor) in Kolkata, and then the China Daily of Hong Kong where she's now Editor, Web. Her academic credentials are impeccable: she's the first Indian woman to become a Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Fellow, which followed from her graduate work at the Indian Institute of Mass Communications and Masters from the Ateneo de Manila University (Konrad Adenauer Asian Centre for Journalism), Philippines. Add to that her professional triumphs ---- launching and leading the live digital edition of The Statesman, India's oldest English-language daily; first prize in a national literary contest for women writers held by the British Council in India; and the Pradyot Bhadra Young Journalist Award for Excellence ---- and you'll know smiling, quiet, soft-spoken Anisha as a force to reckon with in the muscular world of journalism, more so as we're in the era of post-truth politics and piceous populism. In articles of breathtaking range, she admonishes the young for being too preoccupied with doing and urges them towards a "culture of responsible contemplation", and takes down the so-called tiger mums for obsessing about elite schools for their toddlers, all the while tending to her eleven-year-old son and managing home for him as well as her husband.

When she commissioned us to design her a Kanbala, after having gotten to know us on Facebook, we did so in several variations knowing her keen creative eye. She chose, among those, this:

A kalka-infused delight with two curly brackets swinging freely from a paisley-ended hanger that has at its centre a large pearl drop (which you'll also see at the bottom); as also, separately, ball and ball-karai borders; a strung-pearl edging between ball clusters in the lower bracket; and finally, the aam-kalka pasha, the detailing of which sets the tone of the ornament. The wire-tied pearl beads sit snugly in their collets and help in balancing the gold and pearls so that at no time can the yellow-metal overpower the mukto. The clean lines, the repetitive richness of the kalkas, an unusual shape, splendidly calibrated solids and voids . . . they all add up to form the character of the kanbala: an unfussy marvel of a earring whose brevity of elements and effectiveness of shape and form sort of reflect the "beauty of a (her) simple life'' as the heroine, Kanika, of 'Other People's Lives' ---- the first story in 'She Writes', a compendium of twelve short stories (picked from four hundred submissions!!), penned by Anisha ---- realizes towards the end of the narrative. And so it is, a simple but powerful earring for a powerful but simple lady whose many accolades and achievements she will never let you know even if you know her well, such is her self-effacement, so coruscating her modesty. Yet she goes about her daily business of changing the world with unshakeable confidence and energy, and while doing so makes it evident that truth and beauty must be fought for ceaselessly by each of us in our own way. She chooses to do it with her self-belief, and her sunrise smile, with all the goodness of her heart and with every honest word she can unleash to make herself heard. We do it with gold. When someone like Anisha, a beautiful warrior for a better world and a champion of social and civic truth, selects us for her bespoke guinea-gold jewels, we feel honoured. We thank her deeply and sincerely, and in keeping with tradition, name the Kanbala after her.

The companion piece to the Princess Kaninika necklace, showcased here right after Poila Baisakh, these earrings in precious naboratna have been made to match the har, certainly, but designed in a m...

The companion piece to the Princess Kaninika necklace, showcased here right after Poila Baisakh, these earrings in precious naboratna have been made to match the har, certainly, but designed in a manner to be worn independently as well, or with some interesting joroa goyna from the yesteryears that may or may not have paired earrings or, even if they do, might be of a type too frumpy for your style. The cluster top is traditional, using all nine gems ; the three-stick suspension system is decidedly not. The hanger draws from the left endpiece of the necklace and the ruby flower sees a brave contrast with the turquoise furls alongside. The seven pearl strings can be varied in length to suit your profile and deliver the desired effect, especially if you’re wearing these danglers alone. Finally, the fanned out leaves and central blossom of the main lower bracket make general a specific bespoke design so that while wearing just the earrings no one will really think them to be part of a set while complementing the necklace perfectly when used as a matched ear ornament to it. The combination of stones, here too you will notice, is remarkably different and courageous, if we may say so, perfectly reflecting the personality of the young and very accomplished lady for whom it has been created. The pearl drop at the bottom balances the ample strings of the mid-section and adds length to the jewel without increasing its volume, at the same time giving the joroa the proper frame in which to speak. And speak it will, this pair of recherché gem-set earrings, in the one language of beauty and care and sincerity and love, for it is with these ingrained characteristics of art that they’ve been painstakingly wrought by hand in pure 22K gold. Your patronage of such designs and skill of making gives them the desired visibility and makes authentic Bengal jewellery one of the finest living craft traditions of the world and one that most strongly assures us that the future is, indeed, handmade.

"Aata gachhe Tota Pakhi Dalim gaachhe Mou Eto daki tobu katha Kou na keno Bou?" Jogindranath Sarkar's lovable rhyme for children, well known to lots of pre-internet Bengalis who've encountered many...

"Aata gachhe Tota Pakhi Dalim gaachhe Mou Eto daki tobu katha Kou na keno Bou?" Jogindranath Sarkar's lovable rhyme for children, well known to lots of pre-internet Bengalis who've encountered many of these little poems while growing up, comes alive in this recherché kaan-jhumka where the depiction of a parrot in a flowering custard-apple tree is an antithesis of the tree itself which is more a shrub that needs scant care to grow and is not really noted for its shapeliness. Instead, the carefully pierced naksha of flowers and curvy stems and leaves enchants with its intricacy, and the bird --- note its distinctive neck-rings and flowing tail --- is detailed immaculately to stand out in the arabesque. It is a known fact that parrots adore sitaphal, but in this guinea-gold verse, the tree and the tota pakhi are quite evidently in love with each other, and the ornament glows, as they do, as much in their individual beauty as in the beauty of their remarkable bonding. The bees in the pomegranate tree haven't the carriage to be included in the design --- and there isn't enough space to be frivolous --- but the ample foliage of the jhumka, also in perforated naksha, with its ball border and single ball-jhur scallop, more than makes up for it. The ball-karai edging on the kaan is another detail to be considered : it frames the goyna and contains it, not allowing the chased patterns to get out of hand. While a sort of nursery rhyme, the last two lines are significant in a very different way and have been lost over time as the poem, as recited, always ends with the question the husband asks of his bride, "I call you, call out to you, over and over / yet you stay silent and heed not my plea, pray why?" The missing words have been said to be either of these : "Gaye boro jaala Hoy na katha bola !" or "Katha koibo ki chholé Katha koité ga jwolé !" In both, the wife replies with a common refrain. She's pained to answer her husband. It seems the reason his entreaties are falling on deaf ears is because he's been guilty of causing her some sadness which cannot be assuaged by gifts (say, of sarees or jewellery) or through his obvious gift of the gab. Only genuine remorse and a humble asking for forgiveness may somewhat correct the matter, but that too depending on her willingness to absolve him of his grave misconduct without a fittingly long waiting period. It is most definitely not a 'Let's kiss and make up' scenario he finds himself in. Well, in so far as that furthers the aspect of who we are and choose to remain over time amidst the meaningful relationships we gather around us, we may hope at least to be like the parrot and the aata tree and hold our own in each other's company in life's every chapter with grace and beauty. This handcrafted kaan-jhumka, made to complement an elaborate choker we'll showcase later, speaks in the unerring voice of that symbiotic partnership, that attachment which comes about when we love each other enough to know we must forever live with pride and respect for each other's differences and find our happiness in that, no matter what.

In the halcyon days of the Bengali Zamindars, these elegant guinea gold Kanbalas would have been de rigueur for the ladies of the house. Today, however, they’ve become a precious rarity.
...

In the halcyon days of the Bengali Zamindars, these elegant guinea gold Kanbalas would have been de rigueur for the ladies of the house. Today, however, they’ve become a precious rarity.

Made by a line of all but extinct master artisans, these immaculately hand-chased, hand-crafted beauties give an altogether different spin to the word ‘earrings’ and are guaranteed ‘show-stoppers’ everywhere.

A four-step jhapta style pure 22K gold earring that's matched to the Mayurpur Necklace but is quite capable of carrying the evening all by itself. The riveting centerpiece of the har is repeated he...

A four-step jhapta style pure 22K gold earring that's matched to the Mayurpur Necklace but is quite capable of carrying the evening all by itself. The riveting centerpiece of the har is repeated here in a dramatic cascade of naksha crescents that culminates in a generous pearl and ball fringe, with a half jhumka and single oversized pearl drop as a fitting epilogue. You can wear just the earrings ---- they're lavish, and stunning. Pair them with trousers and a dark turtleneck, or a black mesh cocktail dress, or even a mermaid gown with a high neckline and boy!, will you sizzle ! Or just kill them all softly in a single colour crepe saree, slinky blouse, and the Mayurpur danglers.
You deserve to be centre stage.