Before partition, my naani, Shanti Devi belonged to Lahore, now in Pakistan. She married my grandfather, Gyan Chand on 16th March 1950 in one of Karnal’s districts which is now Panipat. This is when she was given this keyring or ‘challa’ – as we call it in Punjabi – as a part of her wedding trousseau by her mother.
Set in black jade, the pendant has the initials of my grandparents inscribed on it in gold, intervowen within one another. S for Suraksha and P for Prem. My grandfather got this handcrafted at Kanjimal Jewllers in Chandni Chowk sometime in the mid-1950s and gifted this to my grandmother on one of their early wedding anniversaries.
My grandparents reached Delhi separately with their families in 1947, but their love story had begun long before that. Along with their stories, I have inherited a simple ring that spoke volumes of their love for each other.
Although she had never worn them till recently, due to self-imposed inhibition, when she did finally put them on- gingerly and hesitantly- they looked beautiful on her feet!
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