GOLD

She had an almost permanent air of melancholy about her - I was told that she came from a Royal family in Rajasthan and she reinforced this by letting slip little stories about how she was taught as a child to hold her hand in a certain way when putting on bangles, so that her hand would always remain slender and bangles would slip on and off easily.  "You should begin collecting jewelery" she told me one day..."I'm expected to wear it - it's part of my image, but all Indians collect gold, because you can raise a loan on the amount of gold jewelery you possess"  Years ago a Hindu woman could not own property but she could own jewelery, so it represented security for her.

The jewelery shops in India abound and many are vast three floor structures with liveried guards with turbans, to open the doors.  There are particular seasons for buying gold, auspicious periods, when it will bring good luck, usually around Diwali and as I was to find out...shopping with my friend of royal blood,  gold jewelery is not the 9 carat, I'm used to, but 24 and 22 carat....pure gold.  The idea of shopping for jewelery seemed an absurd pastime, before I came to India, but here it is taken very seriously....you sit down to it and might be offered a little glass of tea, to help you make up your mind.

Gold jewelry is worn even by the lower castes and forms part of the wedding gift exchange....the elaborate nose ring is a sign of marriage...