How to look like Aishwarya Rai of Jodha Akbar on your big day?

You may not see women wear Meenakari designs every day. But when you see, you just can’t take your eyes off it. The vivid clarity, the dash of colour and of course, the brilliant theme cast a spell on you. Even in films, when the royal characters are adorned with Meenakari jewellery, they get immortalised. Remember, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s iconic role of Jodha in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Jodha Akbar. The jewels not only adorned her beauty but also infused a regal essence into her ensemble. Following this, every girl set out to live her dream of looking like a princess on her big day and till today, it is a dream jewellery ensemble for most brides-to-be.   

Due to the colourful designs, accentuated by the sparkle of the metal it is enamelled on, Meenakari designs beautifully expresses various themes and occasions for which they are created. Basically it is an art of jewellery making in which the metal is engraved with grooves of various patterns, figurines or images of gods and goddesses and then, enamels of different colours are filled into the grooves as per the theme. As a result, you achieve a theme-based picture of vivid clarity and design brilliance. 

  

From brass and copper to silver and gold, a wide variety of metals are used for Meenakari designing. Since ages, gold has been a preferred metal for Meenakari art, as it holds the enamel firmly. Plus, the usage of gold in Meenakari works also enhances the lustre of the art while bringing out the colours of the enamels beautifully. Later, Meenakari work was also done on silver for making bowls, boxes, spoons and art pieces. But it was the intervention of Gold Control Act that appealed the community to look for alternatives to gold for Meenakari, paved the way for copper too.

There are chiefly two types of Meenakari art that are popular - Ek Rang Khula and Panchrangi Meena. In the former, a single colour is used and if the technique is used to design bridaljewellery, it can be coordinated with the bridal wear. It helps in highlighting the jewellery by drawing attention to the beauty of the matching earrings, necklaces, bangles and armlets. Used essentially with pastel colours, it embellishes one’s overall look.

The word Panchrangi refers to the use of five colours - white, pale blue, dark blue, red and dark green. With such vibrant colours thrown in, it gives a vibrant look to the Indian traditional bridal jewellery. But when blending the art of Meenakari with Kundankari together, the result is exceptional. Use of different precious and semi-precious gemstones in the Meenakari art further elevates the look of the Meenakari bridal fineries.

Meenakari was invented by the Iranian craftsmen of Sassanid era and spread by Mughals across India and other countries. Jean Chardin, a French tourist, who visited Iran during Safavid’s rule referred to an enamel work of Isfahan. At that time, it comprised of a pattern of animals and birds on a floral background of light blue, yellow, green and red colours.

For the uninitiated, the word Meenakari is derived from Meena, which is the feminine form of Minoo in Persian and it refers to the blue colour of heaven. Later, in the 16^th century, Raja Man Singh of Mewar, Jaipur, not just patronised Meenakari jewellery but also made efforts to popularise it as an art form. Jaipur thus, became the hub of Meenakari art with the influx of highly skilled craftsmen from Lahore and today, it is a specialised centre of Meenakari designing.

In the initial stages, the works of Meenakari couldn’t gain wide recognition, since the technique was used as backing for the popular stone-studded jewellery and Kundan jewellery. The most attractive quality of this jewellery lies in its reversibility. It can be reversed and worn by the wearer to flaunt different patterns in the same piece. 

Owing to its magnificence, vibrancy and versatility, discerning jewellery enthusiasts, along with brides-to-be, dote over Meenakari jewellery. Try on, you’ll surely fall in love with it.

Author: Deepa Mishra

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