Jewellry

Whenever my friend's Mum comes back from Indian, she brings back beautiful trinkets of jewellery with her. My friend and I would fawn over the treasures like pirates. I find it so interesting to hear the stories of how each piece had been introduced to India.

The history of jewellery in India goes back thousands of years and different societies' and cultures have made their mark on each jewellery type in their own unique ways - from the Persian (Mughal) inspired jewellery to Indian Aboriginal inspired jewellery. Some types of jewellery are made of gold and sparkling stones whereas others are made of organic materials, such as dried seeds (which have a spiritual significance).

I feel amazed, sitting back and listening to stories of remote family clans who aren't in contact with the digital world, and of villages made up entirely of men or women. One day I would like to visit India and see the bridges that are made of tree roots. But, realistically, I think that it probably won't be as mysterious as what I envision in my imagination...that is, if I ever do get to fulfil my dream of travelling to India. The unknown can sound fantastical and magical from afar. But, after living in another country for a while, the mysterious starts to seem ordinary.

The Love Umbrella

Do you have a crush on someone?
There are some teenagers in Japan who will draw an umbrella when they have a crush on somebody.
At the bottom of the umbrella, on one side, they will write their name and on the other - their crushes name. I don't know whether it is common to do this or not in other places around the world, but I've never seen anyone do this before in Australia. Instead, a heart is often draw. Inside the heart some teenagers in Australia will write their crushes initials and their initials. So, it's a pretty similar action even though an umbrella isn't drawn.

But, be careful with your love umbrella. Once I read a manga in which an evil umbrella went about murdering everyone. It was so unexpected!