I recently attended a wedding in Hyderabad. It was quite a high-profile wedding, and the display of grand silk sarees and jewellery blinded me with the dazzle and sparkle. The nallapusalu models and the gold haram designs I saw all around me made me feel I was looking at a live catalog! There were three young ladies who equaled (I’d say one of them even exceeded) the bride of day in the amount of jewellery they had worn. I knew one of them. I had attended her wedding just five weeks ago. On subtle inquiry, I discovered that the other two had also entered holy matrimony within the last six months.
I approved! There are many of us who hardly ever wear our traditional, antique jewellery after that big day in our lives. We just keep it all locked up in some safe deposit locker, and barely bring them out. But there are several occasions in our lives that we can wear our wedding jewellery to…
I’m sure there are many more than the ones I mention here, but I list below at least five occasions I can straightaway think of – occasions and events to flaunt your wedding jewellery.
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Other people’s weddings
Since a wedding was what triggered this line of thought, I begin with this. Whether it’s the wedding of a close family member, a distant relative, a friend, or a business connection, your wedding jewellery will fit in. And it doesn’t have to be just the newer brides who have the licence to wear their wedding jewellery. Irrespective of the age of your marriage, your wedding jewellery deserves to be seen, worn and admired.
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Other milestone events in your own life
Following your own wedding, there’ll be so many important milestones in your own life. Your baby shower, your child’s first birthday, your baby’s annaprasanam, your milestone birthdays, your milestone wedding anniversaries – all special events in your life that deserve your wedding jewellery to be lovingly brought out, and proudly worn. Yes, I do agree that you might get new jewellery for many of these occasions, but I doubt if you’ll get every item. So, there’s still a chance to wear the rest of your precious possessions.
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Festivals
The grandeur and pomp with which we celebrate some of our festivals is not something that I need to draw attention to. Pongal, Deepavali, Id, Christmas – all are celebrated both religiously and socially in most families with utmost grandeur. Another chance to air your wedding jewellery.
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Other family/friends’ events
On an average, we attend at least three events each year – events that call for traditional attire. Baby showers, 60th birthdays, 80th birthdays, 25th wedding anniversary of parents (and in-laws, of course!) And traditional attire includes traditional, antique jewellery. See? All those opportunities to wear your wedding jewellery!
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Classical music and dance concerts
Carnatic music concerts, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dance recitals, cultural festivals – at all these events people who dress in traditional attire and jewellery somehow give the impression of respecting the art form much more than someone who turns up in a pair of frayed jeans and an oversized shirt. If anyone has experienced the December music and dance season in Chennai, they’ll agree that it looks like a big, colourful citywide celebration of art, Kanjivarams, and traditional jewellery! So, if you’re attending a classical art do, wear your wedding jewellery.
I’m sure you can come up with several more occasions at which you can wear your wedding jewellery. For most of us, our wedding jewellery is bought for us by our parents. Their toil and hard work, meticulous planning and careful savings result in the beautiful jewellery we wear at our wedding.
Let me share something with you, so that you’ll where I’m heading… I wore my gold haram at my cousin’s wedding a couple of years ago, with matching bangles and earrings, all part of my bridal jewellery. A distant relative came up and admired the gold haram design. My father was with me then. I said, “Aunty, this was part of my wedding jewellery. My parents gave me this. And this haram was selected by my father.” I’ll never ever forget the look of pride and satisfaction on my father’s face.
Wear your wedding jewellery as often as possible, ladies. It looks beautiful, and makes everyone around you happy, especially the parents who gave it all to you as part of a carefully selected trousseau.
