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Of kundan jewellery
& a hellish marriage
Reviewed by Aditi Garg
Kundan Jewellery
by Parag Vyas
Published by PHD Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, in association with Konark. Pages 99. Rs
2,000
 jewellery has always
been held in high regard by women and has served to convey their
social standing. In India, many types of jewellery abounds but the
ancient art of making kundan jewellery has seen a boom in the
recent years. The author, Parag Vyas, does a good job of detailing the
various parts of kundan jewellery, breaking it down to the
smallest units.
Illustrations and images help in bringing alive the
content. Suitable for scholars, manufacturers and designers, the book
reveals a lot about the fascinating art.
The book begins by
describing kundan jewellery, as opposed to the ones it is confused
with, Victorian and Pachchikam jewellery. It details, through a
series of detailed pictures, how kundan jewellery is
constructed from the basic unit to earrings and neckpieces. Numerous
single-unit designs, both symmetrical and asymmetrical, find a place
among the patterns classified as the smallest semantic units. It also
acquaints one with the bharavdaar, jaali and khila
styles and goes on further to elucidate the way forward.
The Last Rain of The
Winter
by Raman Chopra
Frog Books. Pages 279.
Rs 245
 the great Indian
stereotype; a joint family with property disputes, wives who scheme
and a mistress in the eye of the storm; The Last Rain of The Winter
by Raman Chopra is a novel that revolves around a Punjabi Family
in Amritsar. A large extended family, it has its share of squabbles
what with a young son who is a rebel and a son-in-law who won't talk
to anyone in the family.
The story revolves around Balraj, a decent
man who does not believe in the institution of marriage but that does
not dissuade him from maintaing a mistress. It provides a good glimpse
of what life is like on the other side of the fence from the viewpoint
of Anuradha who is Balraj's mistress.
It is a whodunit where
everyone is an equal suspect, the story builds the foundation of the
events almost up to the end. When the murder does finally take place,
it unravels all too quickly. The author does a good job of developing
all the characters, giving them full-bodied characters with both
subtle and pronounced attributes. He manages plots and sub-plots well,
the book seems to be translated from Hindi to English in a literal
manner and that detracts.
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