While researching for Marabu, I was keen to keep it different from Patinam, a 2017 collection that was based on Chennai. Instead of looking at a colonial city, through an obvious colonial lens, I wanted to focus on the culture of the city pre-post colonial rule. One of the main areas that I concentrated on was the Tamil language to create Tamil jewellery. Language is an intrinsic part of a cultural as it provides a differentiable identity. Tamil (pronounced Tamizh) is a Dravidian language spoken across the world. Infact, it is the official language of Singapore, Sri Lanka, and is spoken extensively in Malaysia. The sentiments around this ancient language run deep and the fact that the state that I hail from is called Tamil Nadu (Nadu meaning country) stands testimony.
I divided Tamil jewellery into those pieces of jewellery based on the script and those on poets, writers who have contributed a great to Tamil Literature. I have 2 pieces from the former category and two from the latter in this post.
Tamil Jewellery
Initially, I created two pieces with a modern Tamil logo. It reads “Tamil” vertically though it looks like a single letter. I wanted to make both so different from each other that one women would buy them both. Naturally, I am trilled that the same client bought both pieces.
In the first piece, the logo is suspended in space with a bit of fairy dust floating by. In the second piece Tamil text is backgrounded by a silk saree with a contrasting border. The aesthetics is carried over to the necklaces in terms of both colour and materials of the beads. One is dark, elegant, and a bit moody and the other is loud and unapologetic.
Bharatiyaar Necklace
Born as Subbhaiya in 1882, Subramania Bharati or Bharatiyaar grew to become a mahakavi or a great poet. He was also a writer, a journalist, a patriot, teacher and a visionary one who stood for women’s rights. His songs in simple Tamil described natural beauty of India and urged people to fight for her independence. Moreover, He protested inequalities that existed in the society and rose angrily both through his words and actions for justice. His songs are timeless and have been adapted in films and plays as well. Therefore, I had to include a tribute to him in my Tamil Jewellery and thus was born the Bharatiyaar necklace.
I wrapped the Bharatiyaar digital illustration pendant to the pre-made chain wrapped cord necklace. I have added wine coloured agate beads as accent. This necklace is sold and you can see my friend Dhurgha wearing it here.
Thiruvallur Necklace
Valluvar also known as Thiruvalluvar was a Tamil Poet who lived approximately 2000 years ago. He is believed to have lived at Mylapore (in the present day Chennai) along with his wife. His birth year and the religion that he followed are highly debated. He offered insights on various aspects of life particularly ideals of virtue, wealth and love through his writings. His 1330 couplets or Thirukkural are a celebrated part of Tamil literature and have been translated into atleast 20 languages.
Much like the Bharatiyaar necklace, I wanted to keep this necklace also simple. I have wrapped the brass+resin pendant to beaded choker. I have used a blue glass bead to increase the connect the pendant and the choker. The Thiruvallur necklace is for sale.
That is my post on Tamil Jewellery. While it is not jewellery worn by Tamil people (traditionally) it is jewellery inspired by the language and those who contributed to it. I will elaborate on how I created jewellery based on an ancient version of the Tamil script in my next post.
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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