Roma Narsinghani’s ‘Sundays are for love’ is a line of stunning portraits of love, affection, intimacy and bonding, all underlined by a sense of quietude. The warmth of emotions brilliantly captured in the images add to their haunting beauty. We reached out to the artisanal jewellery designer to chat on the campaign we have absolutely fallen in love with.

‘Sundays are for love’ is beautiful. How was it born?

Inspiration was more inwards for this collection than outwards. I wanted to explore intimacy as a concept as I’ve always been a shy person. Coming from a Middle Eastern country, the idea of touch and feel always made me feel somewhat uncomfortable, even though I come from an extremely loving and supportive family. I guess we create these blocks in our mind and as we grow older, we understand ourselves better using tools like meditation and therapy. For me, this was an area of my life I wanted to work on and heal from. And, jewellery has always had a close connection with intimacy. You will find intimacy in all senses — smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing. But also in the places where a piece of jewellery is worn, invisible inside a shirt or very conspicuously with a secret message on the back, against the skin. ‘Sundays are for love’ was our way of exploring love and intimacy through visual imagery of real-life authentic stories, pairing it with jewels, made with a lot of love and passion.

The basic premise is love and you have gone about interpreting it in various ways. What was the vision?

Love and intimacy go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. This means love for others but also self-love. We self-soothe through a massage or a long warm bath, masturbation, or sex. Occasionally, we sleep in on a Sunday, with our partner. Each is an expression of embodying our vulnerable and naked self. ‘Sundays are for love’ is defined by those quiet, perfect, private moments shared by those you feel appreciated by — those brief, unnameable instances where everything fits, no doubts or questions exist, and all seems safe and good. The vision was to prioritise these tactical experiences and stories of love. Nothing is better than a touch on the shoulder or a hug that wordlessly conveys: I see you. I care about you. I’m excited to be with you. We are in this together.

Appy

Tell us about the name...

My husband and I both work almost six days a week. Sunday is our day, we spend time with our beagle, Bella... stay in bed late, watch a movie, and order in yummy food... take Bella for a walk on the beach... therefore... Sundays are always for love!

What role does the colour white play?

White is the colour of purity, each person and relationship is so pure and so unique in its own way but the authenticity connects everyone, white seemed the perfect choice to convey all the stories.

Tell us how you picked the cast...

It took about two months, we had a super team. Everyone was coming up with options, reaching out to friends, family, and even strangers. There was no format or model that we followed. A lot of the cast is friends and people within our network. I am eternally grateful to each and every cast member to trust us with telling their stories.

How did you arrive at the stories to tell?

Just through conversations, listening to their stories about their relationships. The only parameter was to pick stories of love from a socio-cultural point of view. These are all real people, how do we explore these relationships in a form that will not only resonate with viewers but also leave a message and hopefully trigger an emotional response for the viewer to want to be open to all kinds of love in any form, shape or gender.

Inspiration was more inwards for this collection than outwards. I wanted to explore intimacy as a concept as I’ve always been a shy person. Coming from a Middle Eastern country, the idea of touch and feel always made me feel somewhat uncomfortable, even though I come from an extremely loving and supportive family. I guess we create these blocks in our mind and as we grow older, we understand ourselves better using tools like meditation and therapy. For me, this was an area of my life I wanted to work on and heal from. And, jewellery has always had a close connection with intimacy — Roma Narsinghani

The treatment is so pure. What was your brief like?

We only told the cast to be themselves, no-frills. Bikramjit Bose (photographer), he’s a magician. He made each cast member feel so comfortable, to be at ease, and that really comes through in the images. As far as depicting each relationship goes, we spoke with each cast member, got to know them, and created notes, and Karishma Kapoor, our copywriter, brought these stories to life by weaving them with her beautiful words.

Do you have a favourite?

Each story is so different, so special, and authentic. No favourites! All hold a very special place in my heart.

Will you continue with the series?

Time will tell.

What is love for you, in 2022?

Love is not something that can be controlled or switched on or off. Instead, it arises from the depths of our subconscious, our source. In order to truly love others, we need to love ourselves first.