Is it rant hour yet? 

Why blend in?

I was at the Bangalore airport recently with a bunch of time to kill, and found myself at the kiosk of a popular ‘everyday, affordable’ jewellery brand, browsing through all of their offerings from rings to bangles and mangalsutras, and chatting with the salesperson about all the things I was curious about – from their brand philosophy to their customer buying behaviour – and while it all seemed sparkly from afar, there was something nagging at me the whole time.

It didn’t take me too long to realise what it was, and it was the most fundamental thing…their designs. Just really tiny pieces, the most basic finishes, those cookie-cutter white stones in those cookie-cutter floral shapes… You could tell every piece there was designed to encourage women to almost… blend in?

There was no way one could tell the origin of the design – was it European? Was it American? It definitely wasn’t Indian. There was nothing much to say about the motifs and stones and how ingeniously a piece could be worn. They didn’t intend to draw much attention and instead just blended into you…and it got me thinking, "Are we slowly losing our stunning, rich, vast Indian heritage in the guise of ‘simple, everyday’ jewellery?"

Sure, we don’t want to be flaunting statement chandelier earrings or oversized jhumkas every waking moment (though some of us do), and sometimes the occasion calls for something light and easy, but should 'easy' mean unimaginative? Or just… plain dull? Because show me another teardrop pendant and I might just go up in smoke. 

Is it a conspiracy? 

The salesperson shared how most people who shop are men or men accompanied by women they’re buying presents for, and I wondered if maybe that had something to do with it? Are all these men making us settle for jewellery that just doesn’t cut it? 😭 Or are we as consumers creating this demand in yet another manner of Western aping,  unlearning our own studded history that dates back thousands of years and that the West *cough* stole in many ways, by the way? Are we swapping ornaments with real character for ‘affordable’ bland products? Are we forgetting how fearless we were?

My contrarian jewellery philosophy 

I guess what startled me was the stark contrast of the state of things to my personal jewellery philosophy. My idea of jewellery is pieces that breathe, that are ready for a story, that stand out not just when you wear them, but also in your memory… The point is to wear what speaks to you and then take it out to make that statement – let's not be ashamed of who we are! 

That highly elitist, very snobbish thing we’ve heard: you’re either born a queen or you’re not, is just what it is: snobbish. I wouldn’t be amiss to say that today belongs to independent women who weren’t born actual queens but have worked their way up to be the queens of their world. So why should they blend in?

Am I just being a rebel or is it something to think about? 

But I’m curious, is it just me who feels this way? Am I being my usual rebellious self? Maybe. But is it without a cause? You tell me. Maybe this is my 16-year-old self still revolting at the memory of my dad telling me to dress in a way that never stood out or caught anyone’s attention because a small town in Bihar wasn’t the safest place to grow up in. I understand that came from a place of parental responsibility, but I, of course, did quite the opposite, and never failed to question things instead of changing myself for ‘society’, but I can’t help thinking about what happens to little girls’ brains when they’re told things like this. Something to think about? 🤔