The kurtas Dadiji was pointing at, I later found out, were each hand-embroidered by her between 1975 to early 2000’s for Panditji to wear for his music performances, important meetings and album recordings!

As the oldest of three sisters, Nani was given the heaviest and most exquisite paijeb out of the collection, on 8 March, 1969, her wedding day. This pair of payal has been in my family for more than 160 years now.

This lehenga was given to my paternal grandmother as part of her wedding trousseau in 1930 and dates back to that time, most likely having been made in Varanasi. It accompanied her when she got married and moved to Ajmer, Rajasthan from her natal home in Indore. Many decades later, she presented this lehenga to my mother, who then brought it to her home city, Jodhpur.

“We still have its shoe from its breaking in”, continued Nana ji. Suddenly, I stopped laughing and tried to absorb what that meant. An old horseshoe was brought out and passed around the room. It was made of solid iron, and I could still see the ridges on the curved edge. The metal felt cold in my hands while the realisation sank in that I was holding an object which was more than a century old.