Aad .... A Spectacular Ornament

Rajasthan which literally means the land of Royalty originally was a desert expanse with a large number of nomadic tribes roaming this arid yet rich terrain. 

Traditionally the wealth of each tribe lay in the jewellery worn by its women who wandered the desert through the seasons, tending their herds, working in rock mines, cooking and raising children all the while laden in heavy chunky metal and silver jewellery. Wearing wealth converted to jewellery has been an integral part of nomadic life in Northern India as these sections of humanity were constantly on the move.

 As the tribes warred for supremacy and got banded together under one chieftain or Raja; the birth of a new epoch dawned in Rajasthan...the era of Kings. 

Royalty now lived in magnificent Palaces and lesser vassals in opulent mansions called Havelis.

The traditional jewellery pieces worn by their wandering nomadic ancestors were retained in the cache of the Rajputana Royal Jewellery. Metal and silver gave way to a more precious element—Gold, and the traditional designs were now encrusted with valuable or priceless gems. 

Coupled with the royalty of the Rajputs, the tradition of their nomadic ancestors behind them and the influence of the new breathtaking Mogul jewellery  of India ; a unique visually striking piece of jewellery called the Aad or Timaniya was born. 

Originally the tribes who wore a basic version of the now sophisticated Aad attached a customary significance to the then called Timaniya which was that it taught the bride nuances of humility and the idea of bowing her head due to the rigidity of this necklace! 

The Aad is a massive gold necklace that is made of two elaborate components. The highlight of the necklace is a large curved pendant that goes around the throat with broad rims inlayed with uncut diamonds or tiny pearls on the top and bottom. This large pendant could also be called a choker. The pendant or choker could either be made of interlocked individual pieces or can be a single piece of rigid gold inlayed with rubies emeralds sapphires and uncut diamonds.

Below the choker is attached a bib or curtain like necklace- mesh that cascades all the way to the bosom. The size and extension of the bib can vary according to requirement.

The bib or mesh is an intricately patterned  masterpiece of gold interspersed with gorgeously dazzling precious gems in designs of leaves and flowers or geometrical angles. At the bottom of this elaborate ornament are hung huge droplets of either emeralds or rubies to add a spectacular effect to the entire necklace. 

Being an extremely heavy piece of jewellery the Aad is traditionally secured firmly behind the neck by two thick woven strands of resham doras ending in tassels of pearls attached on either sides of the choker.

The Majestic Aad was specially designed to satiate the opulent tastes of the queens of Rajasthan but later it formed a part of the repertoire of Rajasthani Bridal jewellery.  In today's world the magnificent Aad is also crafted in Polkis and Kundan.

The Rajasthani Aad is every bride's DREAM COME TRUE!

Dusshera ... The Battle of Good over Evil.

Dusshera is the celebration of the triumph of Good over Evil. The circumstances leading to this great conflict between Ram and the asura king Ravan have a great significance on the jewellery repertoire of India. 

When Ravan abducts Sita in the guise of a Brahman who has come begging for alms Ram and Laxman are away hunting in the forest. Sita wails while Ravan forcible carries her into his Pushpak Vahan which ascends into the skies flying them off to his Kingdom Lanka. There is no one to hear the desperate call for help of Sita. A desperate Sita not knowing how to let her beloved Ram know of the treacherous abduction starts dropping her jewellery one by one to mark the route of the flying machine. 

She first drops her diamond and emerald studded nupur or anklet next she drops her ruby bangle; as the Pushpak Vahan flies ahead, she drops her Sapphire kangan. all this while Ravan is laughing and mocking her about her Ram never knowing about her whereabouts. Being a male Ravan doesn't even notice what the desperate Sita is doing. As she drops one of her sparkling Navratna Jhumkas it falls next to Jatayu who is resting on the ground. He immediately looks up and seeing a struggling Sita in the clutches of Ravan soars into the heavens to rescue her. A battle ensues between the Eagle King and the Asura King. Sita in all this mayhem continues to drop her jewellery to mark the trail of flight of the Pushpak. She now drops her dainty diamond studded pearl and ruby Guluband. Jatyu being old is defeated by the demonic Ravan and falls to the ground. The Pushpak gathers speed and crossing the tip of the Indian peninsular reaches the skies of Lanka. The abduction of Sita is completed.

On returning to their hut Ram and Laxman are horrified to see Sita missing. They understand that she has been abducted because of the chaos of things strewn all around. Laxman finds Sita's nupur and recognising it he cries out to his brother who rushes to him. They follow the trail and find the next piece of jewellery the ruby bangle. Ram exclaims "look Laxman this is Sita's chudi!" But Laxman fails to identity the piece of jewellery as he has never looked beyond the sacred feet of his bhabi. Ram being Sita's husband identifies all the pieces till they reach a bleeding Jatyu whose mighty wing has been chopped off by Ravan. He then confirms that the asura king of Lanka has carried off Sita ma to his kingdom beyond. 

Ram gathers an army of monkeys and other allies crosses over to Lanka and battles with the forces of Evil of the Asura kingdom. He defeats Ravan in a terrible battle that lasts for ten days and nights and rescues his Sita from the captivation of the Asuras. GOOD triumphs. This day of victory is called Dusshera.

In India the personal jewellery cache of any woman is her unique possession. Be she a queen such as Sita, or an ordinary common woman, it is exclusive to her identification.