November is peak wedding season for Indians so my last couple of months were spent creating multiple wedding jewelry sets. Jasmine jewellery seemed to be the order of the day, particularly a hit in the USA and so I made 2 sets for two NRI brides in the US.
Jasmine is a flower that is well known for its beauty and fragrance. In Indian jasmine flowers are the most preferred flowers for adornment during weddings and festivals. It is customary in most traditional households to gift jasmine flower strands to guests (women) who visit their houses when they leave and also for the guests to gift them to their hostess when they arrive. In olden days when royals visited each other they would bring “gold” jewelry or coins as gifts but as it is not possible to gift gold to everybody, we give flowers. There is even a saying for it in Tamil “Pon veikara edathila poova vai” which when translated means, where you cannot offer gold you offer (jasmine) flowers.
The scent of Jasmine flowers are said to help in releasing endorphins that make us feel good. Jasmine tea supposedly calms the nerves and is helpful in reducing stress. On the flip side there are many people who are allergic to the scent and quite often it triggers migraines.
Jasmine flowers are usually the first choice for garlands that are offered to Gods and goddess as their white color is associated with purity and spirituality. But not many follow the tradition, as jasmine flowers are quite expensive to buy. When I was a kid we had a jasmine shrub (Jasminum sambac -Madurai Malli), and a jasmine (Mullai – Jasmine auriculatum) creeper at my house from which my father would pluck flowers every morning while he chanted slokas and would offer them to the deities. Sadly, living in an apartment means that you have to make do with either being dependent on local florist or with artificial flowers.
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| Jasmine flower jewelry set 2 with yellow, orange and gold accents. Comprises of necklace, Haath phool, tikka and earrings with ear chain and armlet |
Coming back to the Jasmine jewellery sets, they are very similar with minor variations in color and arrangement and so it was easy for me to make them one after the other in terms of design. However while making the first set, I had huge issues with the glue and had to remake the set – twice. Thankfully and somewhat magically the issue was resolved by itself for the second set. This was also the first time I made earrings with ear chains (maatal) but in the west Indian style with a dangler hanging at the bottom of the chain.
Having made three jasmine sets I have decided to make no more of them until I figure out a better glue for a acrylic-felt-pearl-thread-rhinestone combination. I might explore more on organic options for the buds though but till then no more jasmine orders. I feel that it might also give me the chance to work on new, one of a kind ideas as every bride, deserves jewelry that is both beautiful and unique – like her.
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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