Parno Mittra
I love buying gold jewellery. My mother has enough but I don’t wear them unless there is some occasion or I am in the mood. I go for very minimal looks, like just a pair of earrings maybe. During Puja, if I am dressing up traditionally then I take my mother’s old jewellery. They are classic and beautiful. Those designs are hard to find now. I love diamonds and precious stones as well. I have a beautiful ruby ring with diamonds studded around it. I like to wear it because it is really pretty. I love designing my own stuff too. Nose pins are my favourite. But I need to buy the artificial ones as I don’t have a piercing. I have a Maharashtrian nath too. I love naths. If I find something of my choice, I could just wear it with a sari and go out. My mother has some lovely jewellery. She has given me a lot of gold bangles too. I love those. I have inherited everything from my mother but my grandmother’s chur that my mother inherited is my favourite. I will take it from her. (Laughs)
Ridhima Ghosh
I mostly wear jewellery when I attend any wedding or event. I love diamonds and polki. When I got married, my mother had instilled in me a love for gold jewellery. But I remember, in my teenage years, when we used to dress up, I used to love wearing those silver jewellery that could be teamed up with anything. During Puja, Ashtami is the day I dress up the most but keeping in mind the weather, I usually like to keep a light jewellery look. Earrings are my favourite. I use it as my statement piece. On Dashami, if there is a sindoor khela involved then I like to keep the look minimal but choose a more traditional jewellery look. Everyone says to invest in gold but I love to buy silver or diamonds. If it is not for shoot, I don’t like to experiment with jewellery so much. But when I try something once and like it then I incorporate it into my life. I usually like to stick to the classic trends. All my mother’s jewellery that I inherited from her and whatever my parents got made for me during my wedding will always be close to my heart. Also, the ring which Gaurav (Chakrabarty) gave me when he asked me to marry him will forever be my favourite jewellery.
Susmita Chatterjee
I am definitely a jewellery person but I like to keep it simple. I usually love to wear casual jewellery items like a ring or a pendant or at times stud earrings. I keep the big earrings and maangtikas or heavy gold neckpieces for decking up during Puja. For investing, I choose platinum and diamonds. I think oxidised silver jewellery looks really trendy and different. I love wearing them. I am absolutely in love with nose pins and bracelets and these feature on my forever favourite list.
Manali Manisha Dey
I am not much of a jewellery person but it usually depends on what outfit I am wearing. I could go for just earrings if I have to accessorise. But when I wear something Indian, I wear junk jewellery too. I love silver jewellery also. For Puja, since I usually like to dress up in an Indian look, I choose my jewellery based on the sari. If the sari is very offbeat then I wear junk with it. If it is a traditional one then I team it with some gold jewellery. Usually, people invest in gold but I don’t think about investments like that. I prefer both traditional and contemporary designs in jewellery. Having a variety of collections always help. I really love traditional jhumkas and the inherited gold neckpieces from my mother.
June
I am totally a jewellery person. For Puja, I always like to accessorise my looks with traditional jewellery. If I have to invest, I mostly choose gold. I have observed that light diamond jewellery is really trending these days and I love it too. Depending on the occasion and my mood, I choose whether to go for a heavy jewellery look or accessorise minimally. But I go for both kinds of looks. I have inherited quite a bit of family heirlooms from my maternal and paternal grandmoms and my mother’s wedding jewellery as well, each of those pieces is priceless to me.
Chandreyee Ghosh
I am totally a junk jewellery person. If I have to wear jewellery then I would choose junk. I really love wearing jewellery with my western outfits and like to experiment with junk jewellery looks too. I also love silver antique jewellery. For my Puja looks, I usually wear very minimal jewellery because going out for Puja adda means long hours, so I need to feel comfortable in whatever I wear. I really like how there is no end to how much you can experiment with jewellery. Be it with outfits, hair or the body. If I decide to go OTT then I accessorise my look with a lot of junk jewellery. My favourite jewellery item would be either a neckpiece, a big ring or an armlet. My mother has gifted me many of her handmade jewellery and I have those with me for many years now. Ma still loves making them for me. Those are some of my cherished possessions and they are really precious to me. I keep wearing them now and then.
Tnusree C
I love wearing jewellery but my jewellery choices depend on what I am wearing. Whenever I wear something Indian, I prefer some jewellery to accessorise the look. I am mostly into earrings. But that too something very minimalistic. At times I do wear a lot of jewellery if the outfit is such.
It depends on my mood too. For Puja, I prefer gold jewellery with a sari. I love decking up traditionally. Being a Bengali, I love to wear traditional Bengali stuff. I usually choose traditional designs for my gold jewellery but it also depends on my mood. I prefer to invest in gold jewellery. I really like wearing maangtika, but it should not look over the top. It depends on the occasion, sari and the hairdo. My favourite is a pair of gold kaan bala that I have, designed with gold wire work, it is a very old design and I made it that way only.
Monami Ghosh
I only wear jewellery when my outfit demands it. Generally, I like to wear jewellery with a sari or Anarkali or any ethnic wear. During Puja, I love to wear traditional jewellery because I wear ethnic outfits. I don’t really invest in jewellery but every year on my mother’s birthday, I buy her a piece of gold jewellery. I don’t consider that as investing. It is a gift and a ritual for us. I do not follow any jewellery trends. I choose my clothes and style them with accessories accordingly. If I attend any occasion wearing any heavy sari or lehnga then I wear heavy jewellery otherwise I prefer light jewellery. Nose pin, waist chain and finger rings are my favourite jewellery items. I always wear a nose pin, so it is very close to my heart. I have some jewellery items that I received as gifts from near and dear ones, those are really special. My grandmother had gifted me a pendant and my grandfather had gifted me a gold ring after I was born — these are some of the inherited jewellery that I cherish.
Mumtaz Sorcar and Moubani Sorcar:
“I love wearing jewellery. But I like to keep it minimal. Most of the time I just wear a pendant. I like simple designs but when I really want to dress up then I go for statement pieces. Not only for Puja but in general also I like to wear gold jewellery. If accompanied by diamonds then nothing like it! I don’t mind wearing costume jewellery too. But I like quirky stuff. I do love to wear different kinds of earrings. I have a few inherited stuff but there is a particular pendant with the letter ‘M’ that my mother gave me after I passed class 10, which is really special. It is in diamond and a lucky pendant for me. Now my favourite is the emerald pendant that I keep wearing a lot,” said Mumtaz. Do the sisters steal from each other’s caskets? “Absolutely! That goes without saying and without knowing. If Moubani is not at home, I just go to her room and pick up whatever I feel like and she would find out much later, when the pictures are out. When we were small, we used to complain but now if Moubani is going somewhere and I don’t like what she is wearing, I take something of my own and put it on her. But she has quite a few pieces which I am eagerly waiting to swap,” said the younger Sorcar sister.
“I did not have a fascination for jewellery till recently. I like any white metal jewellery. I love jewellery that has to do with the arts and crafts of India too. I love experimenting with different kinds of metals and love junk jewellery too. As a child, I used to also try making jewellery on my own. I love anklets, bracelets, waist chains and hair jewellery. Hairpins and hair brooches are really picking up my fancy now. My recent obsession is with rings. I have many statement jewellery pieces and I love gifting jewellery too. I think it is a great expression of love. For Puja, the Ashtami look has to be gold jewellery with a sari. These days I am liking kundan jewellery too. I would like mirror work jewellery for a Puja look too. I still have this terracotta Durga necklace that my mom gave me and I have to wear it once during Puja. I like brass and wood jewellery too. I get a lot of compliments when I wear that. I have just started sporting brooches and it works very well with a lot of drapes. I go crazy about anklets too. I have a lot of jewellery that my mom would wear earlier and got them from Russia, the Czech Republic, I cherish that age-bound jewellery,” said Moubani.
Gargee Roychowdhury
I am in love with semi-precious stones and silver jewellery. Even during Puja or any occasion, I love to wear any silver jewellery because it gives a very sophisticated and serene look. Since I love saris, I pick such saris with which I can wear silver. People usually select jewellery with the sari but I select the jewellery first. (Laughs) I am addicted to earrings and love to wear jhumkas and semi-precious stone earrings. I don’t like neckpieces and bangles that much. I have a collection of different kinds of earrings. When I wear salwar kurta, I wear small silver makri earrings. I usually love to wear heavy earrings. Even with my skirts and jeans, I love to wear silver jewellery, especially toe rings. It looks very classy, I think. I do not buy jewellery for investment, for me, it is a feel-good factor. I own loads of earrings and it is my favourite. I usually prefer the old-fashioned silver jewellery, I don’t like the trending ones.