Press Room

Shopping at the Gateway to the Silk Road, India

Having been to Turkey, the end of the Silk Road, many times I’ve always wanted to go to India, the beginning of the Silk Road to shop for jewelry and now I have. We’d never been to India, though it’s been on the bucket list for years. How could I claim to sell jewelry from around the world if I’d never been to India, the Mecca of the jewelry world, the source of so many gemstones and original jewelry designs, so we had to eventually go.

Since we’d been to Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand we thought we’d have some idea of what it would be like in India. But it was very different than our expectations. One of the major advantages to working/shopping in these countries is that you become much more intimately immersed in the culture. We met and spent time with people who normally would never even see American tourists.

We were in Mumbai (previously known as Bombay), Jaipur and Delhi. In these cities the contrasts and similarities merged. In each the traffic, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, rickshaws and oxen pulled wagons competed for space by driving with one hand on the horn. It sounds chaotic and at first it seemed that way, but then we began to realize the drivers were actually very patient with each other. It wasn’t dangerous just noisy.

The most impressive aspect was the colors, especially the saris worn exclusively by the beautiful, brown-skinned, married women who were able to manage keeping their long black hair covered while pushing a cart, preparing a meal on the street or carrying a huge packed basket on their heads or sitting side saddle on the back of a careening motorcycle. Sequins covered even the simplest sari so these women seemed to glow in the hot sunlight or the headlights of a car. Of course, I had to have one, figuring out how to wear it was the most challenging, yards and yards of sequins pleated and wrapped and wrapped again, forget it.

India people have very strong beliefs in their religion their heritage and their marriages. November is the month of weddings in this country where arranged marriages are still the norm. And not only is the bride bejeweled but the groom, their families, the horses, elephants, horses and camels so jewelry is a major part of this five day, thousand attendee pageant. Therefore, finding beautiful jewelry was no problem. I bought magnificent copies of gold plated necklaces, bracelets and rings (no ankle bracelets or nose studs) previously worn by the maharajah and his brides. I’d never seen jewelry like this and now we have it right here in Coronado and not just for brides.

My husband Allan and I had many memorable days in these Indian cities. Some of my favorites were:  

• Visiting Gandhi’s home in Mumbai, it still seems to carry the magic of this peaceful man.
   
• Meeting a young jewelry designer, Garjana in Jaipur and spending the day in her workshop making jewelry for my customers. She even melts her own silver.
   
• Having my hands tattooed in the market place (henna, of course).
   
• Spending time in a Jain temple and feeling the power of their beliefs.
   
• Having a typical Indian dinner at our friend, Pardeep’s home in Delhi. Delicious mutton.
   
• Shopping in Old Delhi, where jewelry has been bought and sold for thousands of years on those same small dirt roads, such treasures you would not believe! If only I had millions of dollars to spend!

  Of course, as in all travels, it’s those small moments of connection that make it most memorable. One morning a tiny 9-year-old beggar girl approached me selling long strands of tiny glass beads she’d made. She spoke perfect English. “Madame, would you like to buy 20 strands of beads for 20 Rupee ($.75)? I thought, there but by the grace of God go I. Not only did I buy them, we had our picture taken together and as we hugged each other I told her “I sell jewelry just as you do in America.” She smiled and said “good luck to you.” It really is a small, wondrous world. 

Watch our TV segment featuring jewelry by d Forsythe on San Diego FOX TV, Channel 5 Morning News (Original air date: 9/22/2010). Click on the image below to watch the video.