Padmini and a cousin.

What are your memories of jewellery growing up in a family such as yours?

Karni Singh Sodha with a gold modh
Padmini Kumari with her husband

Tell us about your family?

The wedding party entering Narain Niwas Palace
Padmini with her husband, Karni Singh Sodha
Padmini getting dressed
Padmini with her brother, Pratap Singh Rathore
Karni Singh Sodha, the bridegroom, arriving for the wedding.
Padmini with her newborn son in Pakistan

If you could pass on a few pieces (or one piece of jewellery) to your daughters or nieces, which ones would you pick? And why?

What jewellery do you wear every day?

The wedding ceremony
Padmini days before her wedding

What do you relish about the act of wearing jewellery?

Is there a style icon that you follow?

Padmini and her father, Motif Singh Rathore
Padmini wearing a jhela on her head

If you could commission a piece of jewellery...

what would you want to be made – for yourself or your descendants?

What is your favourite piece of jewellery

that your mother or grandmother wore? Why is it your favourite?
Padmini's jewellery
Bridegroom applying tikka on bride

I wear what I like and what suits my personality and of course, pocket. I like to be comfortable in my shoes.

So every time I wear a ring or a necklace or a bracelet, I say it to myself, “This is who I am and I like it.”

Padmini getting dressed

What I love about jewellery is that I am a temporary custodian and the stories keep adding with every generation. Its beauty is timeless. It becomes better with age just like wine.

Padmini Kumari grew up in Jaipur and now lives in Amarkot, Pakistan.