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Interesting Facts about an Ornament of Power, Protection, Love, Wealth and Status

Rings in literature

Writers have described finger rings as ornaments of power, wealth, affection and symbols of loyalty, love and status. Several beliefs and superstitions are associated with finger rings. They keep demons away. Protect the wearer from evil doers, accidents and miseries. Correct planetary influences. Bring good luck. Cure diseases. Those powers are attributed not to the rings themselves but often to the materials with which those are made, inscriptions on them, the powers of the gems or stones that go into the making.

There are many who believe that chanting of certain hymns and mantras while wearing finger rings enhance the magical power of the rings they wear. Rings have been used even for spying. There was a Soviet spy who had hidden camera in his ring.

Rings and Craftsmen

Metal-smiths are some of the oldest craftsmen engaged in finger ring making. Other creative artisans like carpenters, stone workers, bone carvers, gem and jewelry makers and designers have contributed to the development of this ornamentation. Museums in every continent have rings made of iron, stone, porcelain, bone, horn, silver and gold with or without jewels.

Humanity has believed for long that circular shape represents infinity and perfection. Rings are also a status symbol. In ancient Rome, commoners wore rings of iron and bronze. In that country there was a time when wearing a gold ring was a prerogative of the rich.

Rings in my life

Finger rings had entered my life in different forms at different times. In the native village where I was born, there were many festivals in which caparisoned elephants were a great attraction. Elephants have thick black hairs at the tips of their tails roughly 1/12^th of an inch thick, 6 to 12 inches long. In my time many  students in the primary classes wished to have a ring made of that elephant tail hair; I too had one.

My cousins and I had many occasions to hear Ramayana recitation. From that the story of a ring comes to mind; a scene where Hanuman showing a signet ring to Sita to prove that he was a genuine messenger of Rama.

Mahabharata narrates the story of another royal ring of affection king Dushyanthan gave to Shakuntala.  She loses the ring causing her a period of hardships.  Eventually a fisherman finds the ring from the stomach of a fish. In western culture too there are two similar narration of lost rings later recovered from fish; one pertains to Solomon the wise and the other of a Pope who voluntarily threw his ring in to a river.

While at secondary school, after learning in a geography lesson that people of Kashmir weaved Pashmina scarves that could be drawn through a ring, several of us attempted pulling into and out of a ring our hankies to test the quality of our handkerchiefs.

In adulthood, during our courtship period my girlfriend gifted a diamond studded ring. I am wearing it till this date.

Three years ago I had an opportunity to witness a relative performing a religious ceremony. It was purportedly to liberate the soul of his father who died several years ago. At the beginning of the ritual, the priest drew a darbha-grass (Desmostachya bipinnata) and made a ring out of it and asked the participant to wear it on his ring finger. In the Vedas and Upanishads there are several mentions of such rings made of darbha , the sacred Vedic grass.

In the year 2013 I had a brief meeting with Rita, an expert ring maker, who sometimes worked as a per-diem crafts and jewelry making trainer at Michaels, the famous retail chain. For those of you who do not know of it, Michaels is North America’s largest retailer of arts, crafts and framing materials. They have over 1200 retail outlets and still keep expanding their operations.

I had known since Jan 2014 David and Linda, the owners of Just 4 U rings, about who I had mentioned in my last post.

Engagement and Other Diamond Rings

The rings that carried signs of nobility and power of authority are known as signet rings. There are several mentions of signet rings, nose-rings and wedding rings in Bible and Hindu religious texts. Islam has some directions about when to wear a finger ring and remove it from hand.

An engagement ring is a big thing in the western culture. Diamonds are an ingredient part of wedding rings. 5 Cs of a gem from the end users’ point of view are color, cut, clarity, carat weight and cost. There are several books explaining all these aspects to guide a first time buyer of a diamond ring. If you plan to buy an engagement or wedding ring, buying a couple of those books would be money well spent.

On the social networking site Reddit I noticed that there are many who believe the money being spent on an engagement ring can well be put to better use like a memorable honeymoon trip or for paying advance to buy a home. Money conscious women say directly to their men that it is not necessary to spend a lot on a ring – that they would be pragmatic with a ring in the range of $50 – $1000. Often the need for a ring arises due to social pressure to show it to curious friends and relatives!

I also watched a humorous video on You Tube titled Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam. The post conveys that diamonds are intrinsically worthless, opposite to what we have heard so often that diamonds are forever. It claims that it was due to a huge advertisement campaign during last century by a  corporation.

Share your thoughts on this topic. Your friends may like to know your views and even benefit from your suggestion to make a decision.

See Crafters in Action and Enjoy a Sunday Morning near the First Town Founded by a Lady in USA

Historical significance of Taunton-Raynham

One of the important attractions in Taunton-Raynham area is the Raynham Flea near the intersection of routs 24 & 44 at the corner of Judson and South Street West of Raynham town of Massachusetts, USA. It is an indoor-outdoor marketplace with over five hundred vendors on certain days.

While browsing internet to know more about the nearby towns I came across a Wiki article ¹ that Taunton in Massachusetts was the first town in American continent founded by a lady from England, Mary Poole. More searches took me to an ornamental tablet of the founder of the city in front of the Pilgrim Congregational Church at 45 Broadway St, Taunton. That plaque is an excellent piece of artifact cast in bronze. You can see in this post the photo of it I shot. Raynham Flea is less than two miles from that commemoration of Poole/Pole.

The market to buy crafts

Visitors to this flea market on any Sunday can enjoy its ambiance, witness artisans engaged in producing utilitarian items and buy gifts, paintings on seashells, pebbles,  scarves, fleece blankets, wood carvings in precious wood, brass inlaid boxes  and more items of categories noted below at reasonable prices.With channel music, live band and beer on the deck, it certainly is a fun place to be on a Sunday.

Shoppers to the market include people looking for new products, refurbished merchandise, bargain prizes, vintage collectibles, rare objects of art and treasures to anything that you buy from a regular store or mall. Probably this market is the biggest of its type in the southern coast of Massachusetts near Rhode Island. Indoor stalls are full of games and toys, electronic goods, dresses, antiques, watches, perfumes, incenses, cosmetics, scarves, handbags, belts and other leather products, old and new compact disks, machine tools, fishing rods and many other junks and treasures.

Artisan product displays and demos inside

Every time I visit the place a few artists, craft makers, accessory producers and their wonderful handicrafts at this market fascinate me.

David and Linda, owners of Just 4 U (Ideal Rings), are a couple from Baldwinville engaged in hand-engraving different types of name rings for you from surgical stainless steel to fit comfortably on your fingers. They can craft rings with your personal name or names of your loved ones, friends or pets. Some customers request them to inscribe a special date, school name or that of an event.

They often engage in live demo of their talent by participating in several events in Massachusetts.

David has a good sense of humor. He is very humble and positive too. Lynda is very energetic and handles administrative and public relations functions of their business.You can visit their website (www.idealrings.com) to read many stories based on interesting experiences they had.

Armando of AcDesignz is a smiling young man with pleasing manners. He creates beautiful, flashing themes and logos with LED lights and images which you can wear or use to decorate your home or office.  T-shirts and hats he produces are very popular. Fixing sound activated panels on 100% pre-shrunk cotton T-shirts involves precision hand work. I have always seen a small crowd of inquisitive spectators in front of his stall. His booth is in aisle L.

Robin  Peal is a lady with a right blend of professionalism, customer support talent and creativity.  Her love for art and craft is evident from her paintings on sea shells and deadwood/driftwood art decor items.  She specializes in selling her creations in addition to hermit crabs and all the accessories for the upkeep of your reptile pets.

Robin intends to add soon to her collection lizards, geckos and bearded dragons!

Marilyn specializes in handmade, fringe, fleece blankets in King, Queen, Twin and Infant sizes. She explains that her blankets are double sided and ideal for personal use or gifts.

The booth opposite to Marilyn's in aisle L has wonderful exotic handmade razor cut dresses,shoulder bags, carved and brass-inlaid wooden utility products and marble ornamental handicrafts. They do not manufacture any, but retail those.

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¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Poole

What Emotion Makes You Touch and Run Your Fingers on a Silky Smooth Tassel? Also Read More about Trims, Fringes and a Golden Metallic Yarn named Zari.

Have you ever felt like running your hands on colorful, silky, smooth, textile articles like trims, tassels and laces?  If yes, it is because of a human physiological phenomenon known to researchers. This condition is termed tactile-emotion synaesthesia. That state may stir up different sensations to you when you touch dissimilar items of varied textures.

In one of the experiments conducted around the year 2008, a 22 year old subject felt ‘happiness and contentment’ when she touched silk objects. Last paragraph in this takes you to that story. Presently, following the second part of our title, let us take a look at trims and golden metallic yarn.

Whether or not one gets an impulsive feeling to touch soft things, most of us enjoy seeing alluring, colorful, soft materials which enhance visual appeal of objects we can use at our homes. 

Tassels, trims and fringes are decorative components of several craft projects, fashion garments and wedding apparels all over the world.  These are also used in wall coverings, floor coverings, curtains and interiors of homes, offices and market places. Assorted types of those are adornment for chandeliers, throws, dresses, jewelry, bags, couch cushions, lampshades, scarves and jackets. Even liquor industry has a use for them! Bottles of expensive brands of spirits add a braid as an embellishment!

The fringe or a decorative border of thread or cord on a strip has sub-categories like brush, knotted and moss fringes etc.

Pom-pomp fringes (the ones with small balls of threads) are widely used for do-it-yourself crafts, scarves and skirts. Pompons with loose and fluffy decorative materials are favorites of cheer leaders in spectator dominant sports like football and cricket.

Tassels are dangling decoration, a bunch of cords or threads arranged in parallel.  Prices of tassels vary. People use budget friendly or expensive ones to announce their taste of decor or wealth and social status and standing. Trims are another item of the same group of ornamental products made with the use of fabric, ribbons, lace, beads  and glittery threads.

Materials with which these articles of adorning are made include threads of cotton, silk, rayon, wool, nylon and polyurethane. But most attractive of the fringes use one more raw-material called Zari - a golden yarn. This has been in use in India for thousands of years. In olden days it was made out of silver yarn fused with gold leaves. It is one of India’s ancient crafts.

At first, emperors, kings and queens and members of royal families were the patrons and consumers of clothes interlaced with intricate designs of golden and silver yarns. There was a time when there were no regalia without zari. Fabric woven with this precious yarn also adored the statues of gods and goddesses. The word zari has its roots in Urdu/Persian.

Until the middle of the last century, all the small tools and equipments needed to produce zari and weave it into wonder fabrics were indigenously developed by local artisans.

In the early seventies, I had a colleague and friend, an officer in the audit department, one Zariwala from the textile city of Surat in Gujarat, India. Other members of his family had a home-based weaving unit. Once my friend invited me to visit his home based weaving unit. From him I learned that for over three centuries, Surat was considered the hub of zari weaving and the manufacturing center of tassels and trims in India.

City of Banaras formally called Varanasi is another manufacturing center for such products in India.

As the production of zari never kept pace with its demand, this cottage industry transitioned to modern methods of manufacturing. At first copper wires electroplated with gold replaced the original raw materials in zari making. Yarns kept changing. Later other metallic threads quoted with different types of plastics and metals appeared. Those looked equally attractive. Then threads of other brilliant colors appeared.

Latest news I heard was that a German firm of international repute manufacturing ultra modern weaving machines set up their office in India and commissioned one of their powerful mechanical looms in Surat.

Finally, as promised in the beginning, I read in the ‘Science Blogs’ the article named ‘Tactile-emotion synaesthesia’ the link to which is http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2008/12/01/tactile-emotion-synaesthesia/

What next? Say something now or go to the other blog, come back and comment?

5 Ws of Tangaliaya Shawl - a 700 Year Old Traditional Woven Textile Craft from Gujarat, India

The season of scarves is here! Scarves, stoles and shawls are beckoning you from decorated store windows. You have used them all, you know the types – infinity, ring, head, bandanna, neck, hip and skinny made of cotton, silk, pashmina, linen or cashmere, woven or knitted. You like them as a male or female user.
Maybe you are not a user. But I like to think that you may still benefit from this piece of information about Tangaliya Shawl. You may wonder, how? Simple. Knowledge is power.If you are looking for a unique product to sell on line through your eBay or Amazon merchant account, this might be a right fit for you. The product has its own competitive advantages too.

Here are 5 Ws  of Tangaliya -who, what, where, when, why in  a reporting style I am currently learning:

During my 2013 trip to India, I met at Ahmadabad, Gujarat State an expert craftsman of textile weaving who was engaged in production of a unique artisanal item called Tangaliya Shawl. His name is Rathod Babubhai Muljibhai. The purpose of that meeting was to get a few samples to test its marketability and consumer response in USA.

Rathod Babubhai lives in Dodara village of Wadhwan, Surendranagar. He belongs to a community called Dangasia.  There are no records to know the exact genesis of this community. But the folklore attributes its emergence to a man and woman of shepherd and weaver communities respectively. In local language these communities are known as Bharvads and Vankars. Those two different community members dared to love and marry each other against accepted social norms of their family groups.  As a punishment village chieftains ostracized those two sweethearts. Old stories of the community continue by word of mouth.The children born to those lovers started weaving a special type of cloth piece called ‘tingalio.’Both community members started using it. “Tingaliyo” translated to English would roughly mean ‘what is hung.’ That small piece of woven cloth was usually hung from the waist. There are different versions of the story with minor variations. This is estimated to be around seven hundred years ago.

 Over a period of time Tingaliyo slowly evolved into a unique artisanal item now known as Tangaliya Shawl. These scarves are a woven cottage industry product; craftsmen produce their wares at home.

The exclusivity of Babubhai’s work comes from his skilled weaving technique. The uniqueness of the Tangaliya shawl is in its patterns woven into the fabric with miniature spherical dots. A tiny piece of yarn is wrapped around the weft to create a knot the size of the head of a pin. The color of the yarn needs to contrast the yarn of the fabric.  Designs are produced with the systematic repetition of knots which its makers call ‘danas'.

Based on the basic color of the fabric and the extent of designs on the surface Tangaliya work is categorized into Ramraj, Charmalia, Dhunslu and Lobdi. Surprisingly, using a very complicated and skilled procedure, the craftsmen are employing simple themes like trees, peacocks, birds and geometrical patterns for decorating their scarves and stoles.  Raw materials include wool, cotton and viscose and silk.

In their article titled Tangalia – The Lesser Known Textile Craft of Saurashtra Gujarat,  Prof. Vandita Seth and Prof. (Dr.) Anitha Mabel Manohar  on fibre2fashion.com credit  National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad and National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar for services provided to Tingaliya handicrafts workers to obtain  Geographical Indication status.

An authoritative history, details about the pit looms on which the items are produced, artisans’ association involved in it and a map of the geographical area can be seen in pages 66-72 of Government of India, Geographical Indications Journal Number 29 published on March 19, 2009.

Tinagalia shawls are something of value. It represents a cultural heritage and aspirations of a community. But the product sample Rathod Babubhai Muljibhai had brought to show me was a little thicker and coarse to the touch, something the western users may not always appreciate. Based on the needs of the end users, production centers need to modify their processes to capture export markets. I believe it is easily possible by use of a mixture of cotton, linen, silk and wool and varying the thickness of the basic fabric. What do you think?