And here’s the other ‘guinea’ necklace made for the elder ‘Ja’ of the Sengupta family of Guwahati, Assam.
Now, there’s something to say here that we didn’t when we showcased the ‘guinea’ shelly earlier this week. The necklaces are being gifted to the two sisters-in-law by the elder’s son whose marriage it is and for which these were crafted. He’s buying — and we specifically use the term ‘buying’, here — the shelly for his Kakima and this necklace to give his mother. This is rare. The norms have always been that parents are responsible for their children’s wedding trousseau, especially the gold jewellery part of it. In a reversal of that custom — and a delightful reversal it is, no doubt — the son of the elder ‘Ja’ Mrs. Jayati Sengupta is the one taking responsibility for adorning his Ma and Kakima with these jewels.
Laid out as five individual plaques — within which the coins are embedded — upon a four-row handwoven v-chain band, the necklace comes as a reprieve from the all-too-familiar floriated style of naksha. Each of the plaques is hand chased in a predominantly lunar pattern of intertwined crescents for the side pieces while the central boss has a remarkable frame of four pairs of buckled-together falcate moons interspersed with stylised fleurs-de-lis. The pierced naksha is exemplary on all, given the constraints of space, and a single fleurs-de-lis hangs as a drop, with a ball-karai replacing the third lily-petal.
Note how the ‘guineas’ — quarters for the sides, and a half-'guinea' for the central plaque — are elevated by the double wire border that repeats itself on the outer edge of each. Not only does this little detail impart definition to the bosses, it also directs the eye to the naksha patterning.
The form of the jewel is derived from our Saptaparni necklace (featured on this page seven Decembers ago) which Mrs. Jayati Sengupta felt suited her perfectly, but the design is entirely different and evolved exclusively for her.
Mrs. Sengupta, a committed homemaker, loves cooking, travelling, gardening, and has a “penchant for collecting watches and perfumes and beautiful jewellery”, the last being the sweetest possible music to our ears. This is what she had to say about her debut purchase from us :
“I chose A Sirkar to order a special set for myself for my son's wedding. I visited A. Sirkar all the way from Assam as I came to know about its classic and unique Bengali jewellery design from Brinda Sirkar's Instagram account. As expected, the charm and service of the store was unmatched and I was able to select and customise a classic guinea necklace for myself and everything was handled impeccably by the store as I live in Guwahati. I'm very happy with the jewellery received and cannot wait to be back again.”
We’re deeply thankful to Mrs. Jayati Sengupta for choosing us and coming all the way down from Assam to order her bespoke jewel. It was indeed a wondrous experience creating for her this unique necklace that we hope will delight her no end and remain in their family forever as an heirloom jewel that not only marks her son’s wedding but also brings her 'paribar' unending peace and happiness in equal measure.
The Sengupta family is held together by bonds greater than those that are evident, tangible, or measurable. Their love for each other shall remain indissoluble (touchwood!) till kingdom come.
We’ve named the goyna ‘Jayati’ after Mrs. Sengupta and in gratitude to her. May this meticulously handcrafted and rather unique jewel win its place in everyone’s heart, just as Mrs.Sengupta has ensconced herself in ours.