Sonarigaon (Assam), Oct 4 (Inditop.com) Sitting on a low stool, head bent over a metal holder, Gautam Bordoloi carefully chisels a gold band studded with rubies. One of the very few traditional jewellers to have remained loyal to the art in his village in Jorhat district, Bordoloi is an expert craftsman with a client�le that goes beyond the state’s borders.
“Traditional Assamese jewellery designs are basically inspired by nature. Birds, animals, flowers — they all form an intricate part of the designs. That’s why they are so beautiful and never really go out of fashion. They are evergreen,” Bordoloi smiled as he shaped the dhanseera, a gold necklace with rubies shaped in the form of rice grains.
Rich in flora and fauna, with golden paddy fields stretching to the horizon, green tea gardens and flowers of varied hues — inspiration for ornately crafted jewellery is not difficult to find in Assam.
Among the popular jewellery designs are “loka paro” which has two pigeons placed back to back in gold and rubies; “jon-biri” which is a crescent shaped pendant with gold and rubies in the front and enamel coating behind; “jethi-poti” which literally means lizard’s tail and has a row of small medallions in the shape of a V and a central pendant; “dhool”, a pendant shaped in the form of a drum; and Dhanseera.
For centuries, most of the Assamese jewellery have been made of gold since it was readily available in the rivers flowing down from the Himalayas, like the Subansiri river. However silver is also used. Lac is used as a filling in many designs.
While the traditional designs are very much in vogue — so much so that an Assamese bride’s trousseau must have jewellery pieces with these designs — Bordoloi said that innovation is the key word when it comes to ensuring that these “pieces of heritage” don’t die out completely.
“Traditional designs are exquisite; there’s no doubt about it. However everyone wants to wear a unique design, something that will stand out. To satisfy this urge of a unique piece while not losing the traditional touch, I started innovating my designs — using different coloured gems or incorporating two-three traditional designs into a single piece,” Bordoloi told a visiting Inditop correspondent while showing his catalogue of some 100 designs.
More than his own innovative designs however, what draws people to him is the time and effort that the master craftsman spends with each customer in his home to draw up a design of their choice and then reproducing it with finesse.
Depending on the amount of gold used and the intricacy of the design, the price of a piece varies from Rs.5,000 to Rs.25,000.
“The art of jewellery making has been passed down several generations in my family. My father still oversees some of the designs. At one time in fact at least one member in all the households in this village were jewellers – hence the name Sonarigaon. But now it’s no longer the case,” Bordoloi said.
According to him, just five households in the village have remained loyal to jewellery making with the current generation of youngsters from other families opting for other professions.
“It’s a matter of economic viability. Youngsters in our village have realised that working in the city will fetch them better money and a better life; therefore they are choosing not to carry on this legacy,” he said.
Even then, Bordoloi trains young men who are interested in the craft in his home in the upper Assam district, some 300 km from Guwahati. “I hope I shall carry on this legacy for as long as I can,” he said.
