Look who's watching our fetish for gold

It’s not just we, Indians observing each other how much jewels we are wearing or if we are wearing anything at all. Now China joins our league and they are observing us, what jewels we are wearing, how much we are wearing. And you should not miss my previous post on the yellow metal and how it keeps attracting me like a magnet and I'm not ashamed to accept the fact that I have this fetish for gold, gold jewels. No need to get any weird ideas, all I mean is I love to invest in gold, to be more precise.

Let me come back to the point. Yes, “without gold nose ring, Indian women won’t go out,” says an article published on a Chinese daily. Ah, little too much, I don’t even have a nose ring, not just me many of us don’t even wear nose ring, but whatever be it, the Chinese are observing us very closely ;) 

People's Daily Online in its article “Indian beauties wearing gold jewelry” says, “In India it will be considered impolite if women go out without any jewellery.” Hmm, maybe times are changing and yes, I remember my mom often telling me that without some piece of gold on her body, woman looks incomplete. Maybe that’s the reason, even a worker at least adorns herself with as tiny as a gold nose ring.     

The article which features Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai wearing jewels says, “Recently Indian government plans to issue “paper gold” that is to encourage people to purchase gold reserved in banks. Though buying “paper gold” doesn’t mean you can really take physical gold in hand, many Indian still scramble for this, which reflects Indian affection and reliance for gold.”

It’s not an exaggeration when the article mentions that among all kinds of jewellery, Indians prefer gold ones. “Indians have black skin and wearing gold jewelry can highlight this feature,” it says. I don’t remember myself wearing fake jewels and my family, relatives and many of my friends know that I love gold jewels. 

    

It’s a fact that Indian women wearing gold earrings and necklaces could be seen everywhere. “Even those little girls who beg along the roadside with an unkempt appearance have a gold nail in the nose,” it says. Yes, who will not love this glittering metal? I don’t think anybody would hate this metal, if not for wearing at least as an asset!   

Who can deny that men don’t wear jewels in India? “It is also very common that men wear jewelry. Many Indian men wear three rings with large pieces of jewels on them,” the article says. And here, I have a man, who hates wearing gold to the extent that he refuses to wear his wedding band and I have to force him to wear it once in a while! The moment he sees a gold commercial on TV, he switches channels, not because he hates gold, but because I love gold and I would put forth my demands in front of him... 

“In wedding ceremony, parents usually choose gold ornaments as daughter’s dowry, which not only set off the beauty of the daughter but can also serve as a kind of property in married life,” the article adds. It’s not rare that friends and relatives presenting gold jewels to show their blessings during weddings and other special occasions. It’s true that one day or the other gold will come to the rescue of the owners and parents want their daughter’s life to be secure, her future to be secure through gold. Not to forget the underlying fact that it has made the dowry system much more stronger in the country, as gold in kilograms is expected from a girl’s family. Maybe it’s one thing which is passed through generations and as it passes generations, it gains its value! While people these days fancy buying antique jewels, some generations have them passed to the present ones and such jewles are just priceless.  

   

No wonder, there are gold jewellery shops everywhere, from metros to small cities, in the country. And how can anyone miss the number of commercials and ads which are pumped through all media during festive seasons? And it is this craze which often makes a big hole in the pockets of men every year in the name of festivals, special occasions and gifts.     

Apart from all these, ever wondered why is China concentrating on India’s, Indians’ gold jewels? According to "Gold Demand Trends Q2 2012" recently published by the World Gold Council, the gold demand in China has dropped by 7 per cent in the second quarter of 2012. But here, one should not forget that China still ranks sixth in the world with a total gold reserve of 1,054.1 tonnes. Although China’s gold demand has grown slower than last year, the World Gold Council still forecasts the 2012 growth rate of the country’s gold demand at 10 per cent.

Plus, China may overtake India as the world's largest gold jewellery consumer in 2012. So China's gold market will exert significant impact on the global market. China remained the world's largest gold producer for the fifth year in a row in 2011, with the annual output rising by 5.9 per cent to more than 360 tonnes, according to the data from the China Gold Association (CGA).

Moreover, China's demand for gold jewellery currently accounts for over 30 per cent of the world's demand, making it the largest gold jewellery consumer for the third consecutive quarter. In the first quarter, the world's gold consumption dropped 5 per cent year-on-year to 1,097 tonnes, mainly because gold prices have surged 22 per cent from a year ago and because demand in India also fell significantly over the same period, said the WGC report.

Currently China and India account for some 50 per cent of the world's gold demand. But the Indian government has hiked jewellery taxes and raised gold import duties, said the WGC, which resulted in the sharp drop in first-quarter demand.

Attracting the consumers, China also has ATMs dispensing gold bars and coins. The first such ATM was activated in the capital's bustling Wangfujing shopping area in September 2011. Gongmei Gold Trading, which installed the ATM, expected the machine to be a big hit and hoped to have 2,000 similar ATMs in place within the next two years. “The majority will be in private clubs at banks and at landmark buildings in large cities,” the company had said.

And such gold vending machines are not exclusive for China. I have seen them in Burj Khalifa, Dubai, and yes our plans to buy one gold bar at the vending machine didn’t fulfill, as the quoted prices were much higher than the market price!

Such gold vending machines are already in use in countries such as Germany, the United States, Italy and the United Arab Emirates. Sorry, none in India! The touch-screen machines dispense gold bars and coins of various weights based on the market price of the metal, which is updated every 10 minutes.

Sigh, whatever be it, we Indians keep loving this metal and keep buying them, no matter how big hole they make in our family budget!

Elder bro says buy gold, younger bro says pledge gold!

There's one funny thing if people have observed in the commercials and ads, especially of gold jewellery ones. In one bunch of such Kannada commercials, two well known actors who are also brothers, endorse two different brands. I think by tnis time, everybody might have guessed which commercials I'm referring to. Yes, one is Kalyan Jewellers and the other is Malabar Gold. Both the actors are brand ambassadors of the two brands and one should see the lines they say to woo the audience, rather say the public, the customers.

The elder son of Kannada Nata Sarvabhouma Dr Rajkumar, Shiva Rajkumar, is the brand ambassador of Kalyan Jewels and he says, "Trust is everything... whatever glitters at Kalyan is pure gold..."

The younger son of Dr Raj, Puneeth Rajkumar, is the brand ambassador of Malabar Gold and he says "Beauty meets quality".

And in yet another ad the same actor, Puneeth, endorses Manappuram Finance, which provides loan against gold jewels, and says, "Why worry when you have gold at home, just go ahead and pledge the jewels to avail the loan to fulfill your dreams..."

The elder brother says buy gold, the younger brother says pledge the gold! Sounds funny, but I doubt if brothers ever gave a second thought of endorsing different brands which would one day make people watch them and laugh at them and their endorsements.

Then coming to Malayalam commercials and ads. Mohanlal is a well known actor in the industry and is the brand ambassador of not only Malabar Gold, but also of Manappuram Finance. He too says the same lines for Malabar Gold, "Beauty meets quality" and then the samelines for Manappuram Finance, "Why worry when you have gold at home, go and pledge the jewels and get the loan instantly to fulfill your dreams..."

Earlier, actors gave a second thought before endorsing any brand or becoming brand ambassador, but now, time has changed and all that matters is money and popularity they get through the commercials and ads. Now popular actors and actresses endorse even drinks and are not even bothered about the impact it can have on the younger generation who often worship them, not to forget the fact that we are living in a country, where temples are built in the names of actors and actresses, unions are formed and when actors die, fans also commit suicide and go on public rampage and state governments declare holiday and hold state mourning...

Bollywood actors endorse fairness creams and advice the youth to use them instead of sticking to girls' beauty products. Shahrukh Khan, who is on a darker side himself, endorses a fairness beauty cream and tells young men to stop using girls' beauty cream and start using men's cream, as the skin of men is much more hard and would not respond to females' beauty product.

Then, there is John Abraham, who also endorses Garnier Men's Fairness Cream, who says he can measure the colour of his skin and know if the result is visible. I sometimes wonder what his girlfriend, dark beauty Bipasha Basu, thought about her boyfriend endorsing a fairness product!

To the list was the new addition, Shahid Kapoor, who endorses Vaseline Men's Fairness Cream, who says men's product works much better than the female's cream. Cricketers are also not behind in this list.

Coming to actresses, most of them endorse fairness creams and fairness soaps and tell the audience how they got their beauty after using those products. People watching those commercials and ads never give a second thought about the product, but jump to buy them because they have been endorsed by popular celebrities and assume that the actors are indeed using those products. They fail to recognise or see the work of studio or photoshop effort that has gone into the making of the actor or actress look extraordinarily gorgeous!

How many people stop and think that Aishawarya Rai may be using some other international soap and not Lux, as she says in the commercial, "For satin silk skin, use Lux..."

One can easily see the photoshop work when one sees dark beauty Kajol looking whitewashed after using Olay Cream!

And what about dusky beauty Priyanka Chopra looking whitewashed in the Garnier Light Face Cream commercial and ads?!

Who will not love the yellow metal?

For the first time in my life I have come across people who won’t wear any jewels. My neighbour’s maid one day told me that her landlords do not wear any jewels and often persuade her also not to wear any jewels. I was confused for a moment. It just reminded me of my school days when one day suddenly the school authorities announced that students shouldn’t wear any gold ear rings. It took us a day or two to realize that the decision was taken because a KG girl had lost her ear rings!

Malayalam actress Kavya Madhavan

But here, the case is different. It is because of the religion that they do not wear any jewels. The maid told me that her landlords were Pentecostal Christians. And now I realize why the small kid was so curious about my chain when I took her in my arms the first day I met my neighbours 10 months ago. The kid was pulling my chain and the mother had to literally pull the little one away from the chain, only making her to scream and cry. I noticed that the mother was not wearing anything and I thought it to be a fashion. And it took me nearly 10 months to know the fact that they belong to a faith which forbids them to wear any jewels! The family strictly follows the faith and adheres to the principles.

But I wonder if everybody follows and committed as my neighbours are. I often feel how can a woman stay away from jewels? Doesn’t she feel like having some at least? I have not read the Bible and I don’t know if the holy book restricts Christians from wearing any jewels, as I see other Christians wearing jewels. I don’t know why this particular group considers wearing jewels as “sin”. And maybe again, the interpretation of the Bible differs and something might have been interpreted in a manner that it forbids ornaments. Here I remember Mahatma Gandhi who once said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

A Christian bride

I have also heard that few denominations of Kerala Pentecostals will not baptize a person if he/she is wearing ornaments! Leaving apart what the holy book says, let me think about it from a social aspect. Even during earlier times, social status was determined by the amount of gold and silver jewellery a person wears. During weddings, gold was given as part of dowry, so the more gold they gave as dowry or they wear the more rich they were considered to be. While the rich wore lot of gold jewellery, the poor, who couldn’t afford, wore glass, plastic or stone beads’ jewellery. Maybe when Christianity entered India, many of these poor people found solace in the new religion, as it preached simplicity and treated everybody alike. Maybe they decided to shun jewellery and start their life afresh in the newly accepted faith.

And maybe because of this decision, Pentecostal Christians took a joint decision to abstain from divorce, wearing ornaments, remarriage of divorced, smoking, drinking wine, going to theatre to watch commercial movies, watching drama or dance along with unbelievers etc. It was a requirements for the believers to avoid such things to get baptized and to join a Pentecostal church.

Another important feature among this group is wearing white dress. The elders insist others to wear white, symbolizing purity, inside and outside. Whether they are in the US or the UK, North India or in South India, they maintain their identity and stick to the rules set by their forefathers!

A Christian bride

Okie, coming back to the topic: I sometimes keep wondering if I was a goldsmith in my previous birth, because I love gold like anything. And my relatives keep asking if I’m the same woman who used to spurn the metal during my childhood. I used to laugh at my cousins seeing their love for jewels and today, to their and my own surprise I own more jewels than any of them!

My love for jewels began only after attending a Malayalee friend’s wedding. Then also, I had no idea that one day I would end up marrying a Malayalee, who are known for their loads and loads of jewels on the bride during weddings. Slowly, my salary and savings went on to buy jewels which helped to save my parents’ grace during my wedding. Yes, I will never forget the incident where one female counted how many gold bangles I was wearing during my wedding and another who sarcastically made fun of me asking if the maatti along with the ear rings I’m wearing was mine or my mother’s. Though I couldn’t stop laughing at her ignorance, I simply replied “mine”. Reason for such query? Simple? It was an antique south Indian temple jewel and I had paid double the money to get that set, but women (who are unaware of the fact that wearing old and antique temple jewellery is a new trend) thought that I’m wearing some old jewellery (probably from my mom’s or grandmom’s)! But whatever said and done, I love my jewels and absolutely adore them.

A Muslim bride

Somehow, I’m attracted to gold like a magnet. Every time I have some extra cash or find some special occasion, whether my birthday or my hubby’s or parent’s birthday or my wedding anniversary or my parents’ wedding anniversary or some auspicious occasions or festivals, I head towards a jewellery shop to pick up a gold bangle or a gold coin. I just love the metal. I save and save and always tell myself that I will invest in some other thing, but the minute I see a jewellery shop, I seem to gravitate towards gold! My hubby is often irritated by my irrational obsession and I counter-argue telling him that it is a stunningly rational one, given the trend in gold prices, which would come in handy in future.

And I have inherited this bad habit of presenting something in gold for near and dear ones. I just wait for an opportunity to buy gold. So far, a gold chain bought for my hubby’s friend was the expensive one back home, and I remember how I had cried for one day when I lost that chain with a diamond pendant. Yes, some gold is due on our part and his friend would get something else from us when we return home ;)

Recently, we had Vij’s friend’s wedding and though initially we thought of buying him a good watch, then felt like no, not watch! Then, I took my hubby to a gold shop and we ended up buying a beautiful diamond pendant for his wife. When we presented the gift before he left for his wedding, our friend was literally excited, overwhelmed with joy and emotions. When else do you get to see such a moment? Gold comes in handy and can bring that glitter and smiles back on faces, I swear, try giving some such presents and see how happy you will be and how happy your friend or relative or family member will be!   

I don’t think I’m the only one to love this yellow metal. It is uniformly loved across the country, like cricket and movies. I sometimes feel naked and starving without some kind of the sparkling trinket on my body. And show me a house where there is no sign of some piece of gold, barring quality and quantity.

Anoushka Shetty in temple jewellery

And I have come across families where the shiny metal has come to save their lives and honour. I have seen families fighting for the gold, brides getting tortured and harassed, but still there’s not a single woman who can say that she doesn’t love this metal. And will any woman forget how she lost all her jewels to her in-laws? I don’t think so, my mom would never forget how she lost all her jewels to her in-laws, not just her, many of my cousins and their daughters too will never forget such incidents. For as women, we have a sort of emotional attachment towards gold jewellery and would never like to part with them.

If other countries see gold as an investment, Indians, including me, have a sort of emotional attachment to the metal and would never dream of parting from it. But we have to laud people before independence and during independence, for contributing their precious metal for the country and war. My dad remembers how during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, thousands of people across the country had put their gold jewels in soldiers' fund.

My dad sometime tells me how his teachers used to often mention about a ship explosion outside Mumbai in 1944 and the blast had sent a shower of gold ingots over then Bombay. The gold bricks had even injured several people. Some bricks fell into the sea and other areas and to the surprise of many, they had crashed through roofs and fell in their homes. In amongst the debris falling from the sky were the 28lb ingots of gold, one of the first to be found was picked up by Burjorji Motiwala, a retired Parsee civil engineer. The ingot had crashed through the buildings corrugated roof, penetrated the floor of the balcony above and come to rest on his balcony in the corner. The bar was stamped Z13256 and was worth Rs 90,000. Motiwala received a reward of Rs 999 which he donated to the relief fund. 

Shobana in temple jewellery

Plus, I have also come across a few reports which say how men use magnets outside Zaveri Bazaar stores to procure gold dust. There are people who are called as gold dust collectors who have been around Zaveri Bazaar ever since the jewellery market was set up in Mumbai during the second half of the eighteenth century. Turning dust into gold is estimated to provide the daily bread for up to a thousand people. Ther are seasoned sweepers who retrieve up to four grams of gold a week. Wonder how gold can be found on streets?  During the buffering and polishing, gold traces are always left on the workshop floor. While most of it is carefully retrieved and recycled, a small quantity makes its way across the market on the soles of the workmen’s shoes, where it mingles with the dust on the ground.

While some, including me, just don’t see any auspicious occasion to buy gold, many consider it as goddess Lakshmi and make plans ahead when to buy it, on special days and months and muhurats as they give much importance to the auspicious and inauspicious days.

How about this??!!

Just before the festival season, newspapers brim over with advertisements of gold - in every form, a gold fund offer by banks or a discount on jewellery. No matter how much the prices soar, the love for the yellow metal never tends to stop or the vice versa, as the old saying says, in India, thanks to drought and marriage, the price of gold will always go up.

And if a person is thinking of gold as an investment it is always better to invest in gold bonds, which is a simple way to buy gold. Buying gold in demat form, either through the commodity exchange or through a mutual fund, can give us all the positives of gold with much fewer hassles and greater tax efficiency. When buying physical gold, not many realize that we are paying a premium on the gold which we would lose if we go to sell it. Plus, keeping the gold safe is always an issue. There is another important reason why people should opt to buy gold in demat form. We women are always reluctant to sell physical gold, but with a gold bond, it is much less of an emotional issue and we will not hold our men back from selling the gold bonds!