Indians have been using jewelry for adornment since centuries. The significance of jewelry in the country is evident from the fact that on many auspicious occasions, jewelry forms a part of gifts. Though the trend of men adoring themselves has now faded away, many of them still use earrings, bracelets, pedants, etc. However, it is the Indian women for whom jewelry holds utmost significance. In India, jewelry is considered auspicious for women. Even poorest of poor women will have some kind of jewelry with them.

Jewelry has not only been considered for the purpose of adoration, but also as a security in times of contingency. This is because it is often expensive and can be sold whenever there is dire need of money. This way, jewelry also serves the purpose of insurance, which can be depended upon. Jewelry forms the important part of adoration among Indian women. To accentuate their feminine beauty, they use jewelry made of gold, silver and diamonds. Traditionally, jewelry has always been linked with wealth, power and status.

Talking about the significance of jewelry in the life of women in India, they are gifted jewelry in different phases of life such as, at birth, at coming of age, in marriage, on becoming a mother, etc. Certain ornaments, such as mangalsutra, nath (nose ring) and toe rings, quintessential for married Indian women. From the practice of generations, these gifts are still continuing without any abruption. Jewelry gifted to women at the time of her marriage is called ’stridhan’ i.e. wealth of women, which in short is symbol of wealth, power and femininity.

Jewelry design is so versatile in India that it varies from state to state. If some jewelry is so much popular in one state, it might not necessarily be popular in another state. However, some basic jewelry is common among all the women across India. Bridal jewelry like maangtika, earrings, nose rings, necklace, mangalsutra, bangles, etc make up basic jewelry which adorn women in India. Incidentally, even today, gold is the metal most widely used for bridal ornaments and over the last decade, these are increasingly being studded with diamonds.

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By: Cultural India

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 10:02 pm and is filed under Indian Jewelry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.