Antaraya Akṣarakrīḍā by Ashwini T
Diploma in Fine Jewellery Design 2024 Batch
Think back to the afternoons spent as a child in Indian villages, with dust flying and laughter ringing out. That was the essence Ashwini T, who won “The Golden Mend Award”, captured with the “Rural Games” jewellery line. It’s not merely pretty baubles. She’s encased nostalgia and culture, then translated it into high-shine embellishments. These are not games. They’re tiny time machines to another time, and Ashwini’s reinterpretation of them as these crazy, wearable works of art.
Jumping into the process involved more than a fair share of hurdles. She embarked on a search for sustainable materials so that the heritage wouldn’t disintegrate in the long run. She employed silver, but then she found something unpredictable with tamarind seeds and red coral wood. Part playful and part earthy. There’s something a bit high-end about that contrast.
Creating jewelry from seeds required considerable effort. The coral and tamarind seeds were so delicate that it might have just broken if you looked at them crosswise. And when the marbles continued to snap in two, she abandoned the idea and experimented with substitutes. The Mysore inlay work was a completely different art form from where she started. Fiddly lines, lots of accuracy, and lots of do-overs.
Following down small gemstones, pearls, tiger’s eye, bloodstone, corals was a scavenger hunt with no trail to follow. But, all the migraines morphed into some exquisite creation, with metal strings, cotton strings, gemstone fragments; like a playful collision between childhood whimsy and grown-up elegance.
Ultimately, “Rural Games” is more than a collection. It’s Ashwini delivering a bold statement on Indian tradition, showing that you can honor the past and look unmistakably modern at the same time. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Wear it, and become a part of an evolving narrative.
