Sohiny For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve had your silver bangles. When did you start wearing them?

Anand Honestly it’s been so long… I can’t even recall. But I remember being fascinated by these silver armbands that my married karigars in Andhra wear – it’s sort of a male version of the mangalsutra in South India. I adopted the sensibility but wore bangles instead.

Sohiny Somehow I can’t imagine you without them…

Anand Well, for the moment I’ve gone into ‘minimalist mode’ and shed all my jewellery. I’ve had the bangles for a long while. I was also getting a bit tired of the comments, stares and questions that they always raised.

Sohiny Why would you let those get to you? I’m sure you’ve also received compliments?

Anand Yes, there have been compliments too. But there’s a point till which you can ignore negative comments or questions. Or too much curiosity. That’s why I’ve gone clean on a day-to-day level.

At my unit and studio, I’d rather have conversations with my karigars and clients regarding work than why I wear bangles – Anand.

Sohiny I guess people do raise eyebrows at men wearing jewellery. As though it’s some kind of violation of the ‘male’ dress code – silly, but it exists. Though jewellery is so much a part of our country, traditions and culture, both for men and women.

Anand Yes, historically as part of tribes, faiths – in so many ways. Jewellery has always been part of male attire. And not just in our country, but all over the world. Taking pride in one’s appearance doesn’t mean a lack of testosterone; I’m sure wearing jewellery has nothing to do with ‘masculinity’.

Sohiny …or being a peacock. I have so many friends from Manipur who had both their ears pierced when they were three months old. It’s a Hindu custom over there. Also among the Rajputs – you won’t be considered a true one if you don’t have pierced ears and wear the kaanbalis.

Anand Exactly, but they stem from traditions. I guess it’s different in urban, ‘cosmopolitan’ places. Which is ironic because they are the societies which are supposed to be open and ‘forward’, but are actually more apprehensive.

Sohiny That’s the thing – jewellery shouldn’t have to be justified by traditions. You just wear it because you like it. It’s that simple. A tribal man wears it as a stamp of his tribe, like the Rabaris or Santhals. Or Native Americans. An urban man should be free to wear it just because he likes the aesthetics, craft or the material.

Anand Well, there are always these urban, ‘cool’, hyper-masculine jewellery trends like dog tags…

Sohiny Yikes! Or studded/ spiked leather cuffs…

Anand Actually, I’ve had my days with those. During my student years in London, I had a Punk phase. I had coloured hair in a Mohawk, wore shredded clothes, studded jackets and denims and of course – spiked jewellery, including the leather cuffs with rivets. Didn’t go for all the piercings though, only due to fear of pain. Can’t say I didn’t contemplate it though.

Sohiny I refuse to believe that without photographic evidence.

Anand Not falling for that one! No way you’re seeing any photos.

Sohiny Coming back to the jewelery bit, it’s as thought no self respecting Punk – especially the male ones – will have less than 5 piercings and 10 tattoos. It’s hardly ornamental for them, it’s subversive to a very intimidating level. Similar for Goths too. In these subcultures it’s almost as if men are expected to wear more jewellery than less. You don’t tell a Punk, ‘dude, you’re not man enough’ because he wears jewellery. You tell him that when he doesn’t!

Anand But even that’s quite psychological, especially for Goths. They don’t ornament themselves that way because they’re aggressive. Quite the reverse – they don’t want to be bothered, so they look intimidating to stop other people from bothering them. Most of them have been picked on or ridiculed, or didn’t ‘fit in’, so they moved away from what’s ‘hip’. And then their culture became hip.

Sohiny  For me, spikes and studs are elements of androgyny. A stud is a stud. A piercing hurts – whether you’re a guy or a girl. In a way, I see these as equalisers.

I’ve always been a big fan of these movements and they continue to inspire my work – Sohiny

Anand As a woman, how do you perceive men wearing jewelery? You work in fashion and are therefore perhaps more open minded.

Sohiny It comes down to personal aesthetics. I’m a minimalist, so whether women or men – I don’t like too much jewellery on anyone. But that can be relative. The jewellery shouldn’t overshadow the person. If a guy wears jewellery that adds to his character, I’d find him attractive and interesting. And if he’s not careful, I’ll steal his pieces. But I also grew up in a household with set ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ codes. My father or uncles wouldn’t touch jewellery, except for gold kurta button chains during weddings and stones that the astrologer recommended. If the jyotish said so, then ten finger rings per hand were okay.

Anand I know! Anything certified by religion, astrology and the likes seems accepted. Or like you said before, jewellery needs validation from tradition. A taabeez or a deity pendant is good, but a regular arm-band or pendant isn’t. More often, the men who think jewellery on guys is weird will get flamboyant with their watches. You should see the dials and straps these days.

Sohiny Or the belt buckles…

Anand Or tie-pins, cuff-links or even the pens. The flashier, the better.

Sohiny It’s the ‘bling bling from da hood’ syndrome!  Nelly can have diamond teeth. Snoop can wear dollar signs. Kanye is all about his gilt-y pleasures. They all have it and flaunt it – their cars and their carats. And dare you if you call them un-manly!

Anand Almost like their hyper-masculine lyrics compensate for all that bling.

Sohiny Do you also think that because most of these guys come from less affluent backgrounds, they flaunt their cars and carats to validate their ascent?

Anand Definitely to an extent. But jewellery has also always been classist. Historically, jewellery designs and materials that the ruling classes wore could not be worn by others in the society. Each class had it’s own type of jewellery and they couldn’t defy their circles.

Sohiny I guess now the situation is a little more democratic – ‘a diamond for all’, as they say.

Anand Not necessarily, there are always going to be demarcations. Now it’s all about the size. Five carats, ten carats. Three hundred carats! I kid you not. Never mind the clarity or the quality of the stones. Some look like soap-stones, but then they’re the size of soap bars.

Sohiny I’ve seen those. But that’s mostly women…

Anand Primarily, but men too. Mainly grooms who want to look like Maharajas, with their turban ornaments, polki necklaces and brooches. And their watches. There’s even competition in the astrological gemstones category.

Sohiny Well, at least during occasions, men do wear jewellery. That’s heartening. I say you bring back the bangles.

Anand For all you know, my minimalist phase may be over sooner than I think.

Sohiny I hope so. But if you permanently renounce them, you have my postal address!

_________________

Sohiny Das is a freelance stylist and creative consultant living in Mumbai.

Anand Kabra is the Founder at Anand Kabra, based in Hyderabad.