Gold is Old
(Sorry Guys n Gals, for not posting in a long long time!)
One of the highlights of my recent trip to Chennai….
(And inspired by this post)
I triumphantly walked into Prince Jewellery to buy a gold chain. My mum’s shopping tip: ‘Always carry cash, it might earn a discount’. So I first withdrew Rs.15000 from the ATM. And borrowed another Rs.5000 from mum.
After scanning rows and rows of shelves filled with dazzling gold, I finally zeroed in on a nice, simple chain, and a pair of thin ring earrings (like the kind my mum always wore when she was younger). I asked for a pair of dangling pearl earrings too, but the silly shop didn’t have any. Their loss, I swore.
So, the sales guy placed the chosen jewellery on a nice velvety tray and weighed it, and turned his calculator to me.
I could have sworn I almost fainted. Rs.44000! Rs.44000? Rs.44000 for a THIN chain and a THIN earring?!
‘Free Gift Madam…microwave dabba’, he said, rubbing salt into the wound!
Thank God I had my last mobile (yeah, the same dabba LG one, that now flickers like a bloo** tubelight when I unlock it 
). I made this imaginary call to my mum, who was ’supposedly the intended recipient of the gift of jewellery’. And then cut the line, and told the salesman, ‘Sorry, she wants to choose it herself! I’ll be back tomorrow’. The guy gave a knowing smile, and pushed the tray back under the table.
And I scooted out of the shop! Terribly upset.
I mean, how do people ever afford gold these days? Wedding albums are full of skinny women sagging under the weight of kasumalais (rani-haar ?) and voddianams.
(My meandering mind reminds me of my wedding day, when I refused to wear any jewellery other than the basic stuff. When my in-laws tried to make me wear a voddianam, refusal wasn’t an option. So they brought me a little neice’s gold voddianam and tried to put it around me. To be fair, it did go halfway around. Luckily, the metal that Gold is, it doesn’t stretch. So they had to take it away).
So, to summarise…I guess Gold is simply old!!
Or mebbe its the grapes that are sour?!!
Me first to comment!
Gold is damn expensive nowadays…
Am glad I don’t like Gold too much!!
Its too damn difficult to afford it nowadays…
He he
A real blessing that u aren’t fond of it!!
One other reason for me not to get married !! I cant afford anything thats gold plated itself ; how can I buy something thats real gold for the poor girl who gets married to me !!
and Prince jewellery, huh? Thanks for the advise. I would never anywhere near that place from now on!
44k ????? seriously ????
Seeeeeeerrrriously, Vimmu! At nearly Rs.1400 per GRAM, it was 44k less a pittance of a ‘discount’ in lieu of the precious ‘microwaveable dabbas’. Still totally not worth it.
But that’s a terrible excuse to not get married
Won’t wifey have SOME expectations ?!!
LOL, wont I have SOME expectations too????
I hope I get a girl who is allergic to ornaments !!! 
that is mean Vimmuuu..
what if she wishes you to be allergic to mobiles or videogames..!
Yeah allergic to ornaments but may be interested in expensive cars. Then what, Vimmu?
Ha! Expensive cars… Vimmu, you better prepare a questionnaire for your prospective brides
I’m not as fond of gold either… but wow!!!!!!
Good for u, Spw! This shopping expedition shocked me into reality
i’ll leave a similar comment that i left at Maami’s..
i prefer artificial jewellery better.. possibility of more variety.. somehow gold doen’t lure me that much…
LOL @ the microwavable dabba..
I remember ages ago my mom brought my ‘palakka mala’ from Prince jewellery, Madras.
Gold is at a high rate now. Everything is at high rate except our life.
*bought
I am allergic to any artificial stuff BUT I also dislike gold jewellery:) so yeah best situation to be in.
I love silver jewellery..you knwo the oxidized stuff:)
Gold is seriously overpriced and overhyped!
But then so many buy it like its going out of circulation.WHy?:O
Grapes are indeed sour, me thinks!
Posting a comment on your blog after a long long time! now that you are back in london and have more time-happy blogging! I just love reading ur posts! imgaininary call to ur mum indeed!:)
Now I know why I got the oxidised earrings rather than the gold ones:p
And your back….you know I saw these lovely jhumkas which I sooooow wanted. Only problem they cost enought for me to make a down payment for a small flat
44K !!!!! for THIN chain + THIN earring and gold prices in Chennai is supposed to be cheaper than any other place!!!! My goodness thats more than my 1 month salary !!!
….. Don’t we have EMIs for Gold jewelery maybe then I can think of it 
Well I think I have to ask my future wife to be happy with “City Gold” ones that I can afford or maybe ask her father to fund real Gold jewelery
neway Good to see you back after the gap !!!
the only time i like gold is when it has diamonds studded
lol but ya i agree gold is becoming unaffordable
Oorja – I love artificial jewellery too! Especially these: Sri Narayana Pearls and Sukra Jewellery (Chennai) and Accessorize (India-based but sold in the UK).
Sol – One of my friends at college had the most beautiful pair of jhumkas made in Kerala… I am yet to find anything close to that!!
LOL at ‘….Everything is at high rate except our life….’
Indygurl – I was allergic to artificial stuff too, but if its taken off before you go to sleep, then it doesn’t affect you. Do try it…. there’s a world of happiness you can explore
But of course you already are into silver jewellery…that’s beautiful too!
Yashada – Ha ha! Definitely grapes are sour…trust you to pick on that
LOL at you getting oxidised earrings. You can have another pair too, if you like!
SMM – Ooh…couldn’t you just copy the design and get it done in another metal with gold covering? Chennai is famous for ‘gold covering’ and ‘roll-gold’
Dhiman – Yes indeed, gold is damn expensive, and never gets a wee bit cheaper. Good investment, if you as. Btw, what is ‘City Gold’? And cheapo, asking FIL to fund the jewellery. Though that seems to be the case almost everywhere! The poor ‘father of the bride’! And thanks for missing me *blushing*.
SMM (again) – Didn’t think you would miss me, as we managed to chat during that one month. Terribly sorry for not calling before I left, but it was just so hectic!!
Monika – Hee hee … isn’t that brrrrilliant! Luckily for hubby and dad/mum, I never had this diamond fascination!
hee hee
gold is definitely old! No one wears gold anymore(other than we Indians). A platinum chain with studded diamonds is the way to go! 
kidding yaar.. its insane, the way the costs are rising!
I don’t understand the gold mania either. Most of the jewelery one “gets ” is so darn ugly one can never wear it. Costume jewelery is the way to go ( this is afer being weighted down by my own weight in gold jewelery- but hey thats all everyone gifted me for my wedding!).
It leaves me trembling and stone cold
when my wife goes shopping for gold
it sure will put me in miseries untold
but she’d say the money will be twofold
when the time comes and they are resold.
Haven’t you gals heard of “rolled-gold”?
‘City Gold’ is the Kolkata name of “roll gold” which is some other metal generally silver with gold coloring or plating a much cheaper way to satisfy the “lure” of gold
…
hehe … seems like grapes ARE sour eh! … nice post
LOL!!
Its so weird that you wrote about this because a very similar thing happened with me. But I won’t tell you here, will make it into a post.
“Free gift madame..microwave dabba”.
Oh okay, if that’s the case then I have to buy it!
Laughed out loud at the imaginary call made to mom. I have pulled off such tactics too.
Ok, so if this is how expensive gold is, how much would diamonds cost?
“Imaginary call..” : I am sure all salespersons are now used to these tricks. Luckily you didn’t receive a call during that pretend conversation….though that would have made a fun post as well!
Cheers,
Quirky Indian
Piper – Oohh…platinum indeed!! Insane it certainly is!
Ally – Gold jewellery as your wedding gift.. wow .. can I send you my postal address please?
PRG – Good to see you back too, after a long time. And , as always, LOL at your verse
But honestly, I have started believing that gold is a great investment, as it never depreciates.
Dman – Oh, yeah… the ubiquitous roll-gold. Thanks to Ekta Kapoor’s mega soaps, our dear Indian folks might start focussing on kundan and other work, so gold might take a backseat. Btw, are u from Kolkata too?
Shoobhayan –
Thank you so much.
Miss M – Hey, thanks for returning my visit. And I will wait to see your post now. See, I have changed so much over the last few years that the ‘microwaveable dabbas’ don’t lure me any longer!
Quirky – He he, that was a good idea. Should I edit my post? Nah! It won’t turn out half as good as yours. And yes, the salesman did seem give his colleagues ‘that knowing glance’!
Gotta live up to my name, don’t you think
“The ornamented one”
Pal: Totally! Just wondering why my friend Ms.Meenakshi is still wearing glasses
(Btw, I think ‘meenakshi’ means ‘with beautiful eyes like that of a fish’).
Welcome back!
A nice post… as usual! I guess the “recession” has not spared gold either. These shops got to display a “warning sign” outside their entrance… “people with heart probs or high b.p. do not enter”… what say?!!
OMG! Don’t tell me. 44000????? At this rate I think its better to hit Narayana Pearls and splurge on those pretty stones and coverings!
Gold IS old Pal! I don’t understand the mad rush for gold jewelery. These shops always seem full especially so in the marriage season.
@ Roshmi – ROFL @ your idea to put a warning post!!
@ Tharini – Yup, it IS that high. Completely over-priced. And I love Narayana Pearls too. Have you tried Utharika in Spencers?
@ Shail – So true..its a mad rush indeed. People just need a reason. Engagement, Marriage, Akshaya Tritiya…whatever… Pondy Bazaar is always crowded… and people say India is a poor country. I am so tempted to refute that!!
No I haven’t. But now I will. Next time I am there. Tell me more about it pls..:D
Ha ha ha …that was a good one…I have done that loads of times…
But on a serious note….its surprising to see some people give 100/200 /330 soverrigns for their daugthers wedding ….what a waste …
Tara – Will be glad to send u a whole list
Karthik – Let’s see if u say the same to your FIL when the time comes
Ha ha ha
thats why i am tipping my mom not to buy it 
Pal: But moms being moms, will always find a way to ‘invest’ in that yellow metal! And believe me, moms are almost always right
“Btw, are u from Kolkata too? ” ofcourse I am from Kolkata…. Though Didn’t get why “too” was used ?
Pal: Oh the ‘too’ is because I have many blogger-buddies from Kolkata!