Few months back, we were in T. Nagar, the most well known shopping destination in Chennai, to shop for some gold ornaments. Prior to that, we never shopped for gold jewellery in the city. After doing the rounds in the plush and gigantic gold jewellery arcades, we could not find anything that suited our taste without burning a hole in our pocket. We had a rough idea about the weight of different kinds of jewellery, e.g., in Kolkata one will get an ear-ring for regular use weighing as little as 4 grams; but in T. Nagar anything that caught our attention weighed at least 7 grams !! In fact, among the ornaments handcrafted in Kerala, Tamilnadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra, the Bengali Designs were most eye-catching and the spread of the ornaments of comparable weight was more for these designs. The ones from Mumbai came a close second.
In short, the Bengali designs would give more value for money and look stunning when worn. The other designs, especially the ones from the home state, visibly lacked the sophistication and delicate handiwork. Obviously, the Bengali goldsmiths manipulated the malleable and ductile nature of gold to an extreme. Also, it is well known that gold merchants in Mumbai rely on the Bengali artisans to produce jewellery for export, which are in great demand in various parts of the world. Hence the Mumbai ornaments looked as good as, if not better than, the Bengali ones.
Did the Bengali artisans acquire the skill by sheer chance or legacy? Well, probably. But I conceived another convoluted idea. This may sound weird, but falls in line with the famous quotes of the celebrated anthropologist Charles Darwin / economist Herbert Spencer - Survival of the fittest. Here goes my theory:
In West Bengal (or even in erstwhile undivided Bengal), people were not very rich (sans the zamindars of the past). They could ill afford to spend much on the costliest and the most sought after metal. Naturally, people gyrated towards designs (and merchants selling them) that would be well spread out yet lightweight, which would look heavy without actually being so. Such a demand coupled with Bengalis' liking for fine handiwork pushed the gold artisans to the brink of their skill, ensuring the production of dazzling lightweight designs in gold, capturing the fancy of the people the world over. Any merchant not keeping up with this demand had to pull down the shutters. The trend continues to this day, with West Bengal not garnering any great fortune for its local economy. More than an investment option, gold ornaments take a place of pride in Bengali families.
On the other hand, a far greater number of people down south invest in gold; hence they look for heavy and compact designs. Naturally, the goldsmiths here, acceding to the vox populi, end up producing heavier, less sophisticated designs on the yellow metal.
In short, I sense that the demand of Bengali goldsmiths can be attributed to a skill they perfected due to the socio-economic conditions prevailing in Bengal for the last couple of centuries or so. One can not also deny the legacy influence on these artisans. The Southern reaches of India is also an abode of fine arts, be it sculpture or classical dance and music; but the art of gold jewellery design is still at a rudimentary stage in this part of the country.
In short, the Bengali designs would give more value for money and look stunning when worn. The other designs, especially the ones from the home state, visibly lacked the sophistication and delicate handiwork. Obviously, the Bengali goldsmiths manipulated the malleable and ductile nature of gold to an extreme. Also, it is well known that gold merchants in Mumbai rely on the Bengali artisans to produce jewellery for export, which are in great demand in various parts of the world. Hence the Mumbai ornaments looked as good as, if not better than, the Bengali ones.
Did the Bengali artisans acquire the skill by sheer chance or legacy? Well, probably. But I conceived another convoluted idea. This may sound weird, but falls in line with the famous quotes of the celebrated anthropologist Charles Darwin / economist Herbert Spencer - Survival of the fittest. Here goes my theory:
In West Bengal (or even in erstwhile undivided Bengal), people were not very rich (sans the zamindars of the past). They could ill afford to spend much on the costliest and the most sought after metal. Naturally, people gyrated towards designs (and merchants selling them) that would be well spread out yet lightweight, which would look heavy without actually being so. Such a demand coupled with Bengalis' liking for fine handiwork pushed the gold artisans to the brink of their skill, ensuring the production of dazzling lightweight designs in gold, capturing the fancy of the people the world over. Any merchant not keeping up with this demand had to pull down the shutters. The trend continues to this day, with West Bengal not garnering any great fortune for its local economy. More than an investment option, gold ornaments take a place of pride in Bengali families.
On the other hand, a far greater number of people down south invest in gold; hence they look for heavy and compact designs. Naturally, the goldsmiths here, acceding to the vox populi, end up producing heavier, less sophisticated designs on the yellow metal.
In short, I sense that the demand of Bengali goldsmiths can be attributed to a skill they perfected due to the socio-economic conditions prevailing in Bengal for the last couple of centuries or so. One can not also deny the legacy influence on these artisans. The Southern reaches of India is also an abode of fine arts, be it sculpture or classical dance and music; but the art of gold jewellery design is still at a rudimentary stage in this part of the country.
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