Some sparkle and shine from the land of backwaters!

My quest for traditional jewellery took me to the end of India – Kerala. People, to be specific tours and travel companies, call it the god’s own country and rightly so. You can’t help falling in love with the untouched beauty of this pristine land. The backwaters, the palms and the beaches, it feels they beckon you. But it is the cultural heritage of this place that brings you back again and again. The more you explore, the more you yearn to know. No wonder, I am still recovering from the mystic influence of its traditional beauty and figuring out, from where to begin talking about this enormous legacy. From head to toe, they have some stunning jewels to bedazzle you. 

Within necklace alone, they boast of countless varieties. Inspired by nature, Palakka Mala is hot favourite amongst Keralite women. It has a leaf pattern made of green coloured glass stones in a golden frame. Apart from green, now-a-days various other colour stones like red, blue… too are used.

Nagapada Thali is another neckpiece that is similar to Palakka but comes with a cobra (Naga) head. In Nagapadam necklace like Palakka, Nagapadams are made of coloured glass stones in a golden frame.

Even Manga Mala is similar to Palakka and Nagapadam in design, just that here Mango motifs are the highlight of the design with or withour coloured glass stones.

Another captivating style of glass stone jewellery like Palakka and mango necklace is Pulinakham Mala. Since Pulinakham means the nails of a tiger and that the glass stones made in the shape of the tiger's nail are strung together to create this necklace, it is named so.  

Pichimottu Mala and Mullamottu Mala are a bridal neckpiece that mean a string of jasmine buds in Malayalam and no prizes for guessing why, in the form of necklace or long chain, it looks like a garland of jasmine buds.  

An auspicious jewelley worn by Hindu women on weddings, Kasumala is designed by stringing together a number of coins with the idol of Goddess Lakshmi encrypted on them. FYI, Kasu means coin in Malayalam.

Broad in shape, Poothali (flower necklace) has leaf and flower patterns with gorgeous danglers in-between, in its design.  

The first necklace in a bridal collection, Pathakam is essentially a round pendant, studded with ruby and emerald stones or Goddess Laxmi engraved on it, strung in a chain.  

Elakkathali is one of the breath-taking traditional designs of this beautiful culture.

Karimani Mala, designed with gold and black beads, is similar to the Mangalsutra used in the northern parts of India.

Among other necklaces are Nalupanti, Avil mala, Patakkam, Lakshmi Mala, Cheruthali, Addiyal, Kashali, Manonmani, Vilakku Mala, Karakka Mala, Mohanamala, Erukkumpoo Mala, Sarapoli Mala, Vilwadala Mala and Mani Mala.

Rings like Pavithrakettu Mothiram, earring such as Jimikkiand Thoda and bangles like Kappu, Ashtalakshmi Vala, Palakka Vala and Nagapada Vala are some commonly seen jewellery at weddings here. For a more traditional look, nose ornaments like Mukkuthi, Nattu and Palakka Kaivangi do the trick. A thin waist chain Aranjanam or a lavishly designed Oddiyanam hip chain which is generally worn by Muslim brides over their dress, further steps up the bridal look. Vangi, the upper arm bangle, generally worn by classical dancers, can also be included in the bridal set. Kolusu or anklets, either made of gold or silver, can beautifully round off the wedding look.

Most of the women in Kerala, irrespective of their caste and religion, wear an ornament called Thali, a leaf-shaped gold pendant which denotes that they are married. Christians here pierce their ear in several places and wear a heavy gilt brass ring called Mekka Motiram at the top of each ear. Just like Hindus, they too wear Patakkamala, Vala, Elas, Aranjanam and rings on the ten fingers. Muslims in Kerala too wear a lot of jewellery. In addition to anklets, bracelets and bangles, they too adorn themselves with necklaces like Puthali, Effakkathali… and an Arapatta. They also bore as many as fourteen holes in each of the ear lobes and a long string of ornaments is suspended through it.

In the olden days, even men used to pierce their ears and wear studs called Kadukkan. As they say, fashion repeats itself after a few years, you will find many men with one of the ears pierced in Kerala these days.

Come, fall in love with this lustrous destination. 

Author: Deepa Mishra

Disclaimer: All images used in the blog have been sourced from Google purely for the purpose of informative reference. The models, celebrities or products showcased in these pictures are not to promote any brand in any manner.