Women and Gold

I came across a long time friend in Little India last week. We were both born on the same year and month. We studied in different schools though we stayed in the same neighborhood.
During my teenage years, I have seen her always neat and tidy. She got married in her late twenties and I did not see her for almost 27 years. And when I saw her in Little India the other day, I had a pleasant shock. She was so unkempt and dressed very shabbily. But what shocked me was – she had about 6 gold chains on her neck, about 8-12 gold bangles on each of her arm and gold rings on all her fingers and each of her ear lobes had about 4 gold studs and heavy gold earrings!! She was almost a mini walking goldsmith shop. I teased her and asked if she is showing off her collection and she said “what else is there in life for me?”. I did not know how to re-act to that statement of hers but it set me thinking of the many women who would save money to buy gold ornaments and wear the ornaments either everyday like my friend or keep it in the drawer for special occasions.
Recession or no recession, the passion of buying gold jewellery among women never seems to die. The biggest show of gold can be witnessed at Indians weddings where the favourite topic amongst most women is always the new designs of jewellery especially of the bride. My mum used to tell me that these occasions are also the biggest chance for women to show off their own gold ornaments.
I know of a lady who ensured that her husband gives her only gold ornaments for her wedding anniversaries, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Deepavali etc. Some women even hide money from their husbands to buy a gold chain or a ring while also secretly setting aside cash for future buys.

When a baby girl is born in an Indian family she is gifted gold earnings or rings or chains by close relatives. Even at a funeral of a relative, some women would make sure to wear gold bangles, big fat gold chain and large earrings. “If I don’t do that, my relatives will think that I don’t posses any gold,” said a cousin of mine.

When I was about to get married, both my parents and in-laws were interested to know how much of gold I would have in my possession when I go to the in-laws house! Interestingly, one of the major discussions made when planning the wedding date etc was , “what is the weight?”. It’s a shame that my parents had to borrow a bit of money to ensure I had at least the minimum requirement of gold ornaments on me eg. 1 gold necklace, a set of earrings, 4 gold bangles.
Sometimes, I feel that this sacred metal is one of the main reasons behind the mentality of spending less on education and well being of the girls. Very conservative Indian parents are seen worried about arranging jewellery with whatever money they possess instead of spending that on education and skill building of their daughters.

On the other hand, my sister will tell me that gold provides financial security “it is my only property that gives me cash when I need it immediately”. And true enough, when I was going through a financial crunch at one point of my life, her gold ornaments were pledged in the pawnshop to help me!!!