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Vishal Khairnar
इस खबर को सुनने के लिये प्ले बटन को दबाएं।
Raji Anand’s reconstructed jewellery brings the thali into the spotlight
For Chennai-based jewellery designer Raji Anand, beauty lies in the overlooked. Known for her reconstructed jewellery, she transforms everyday objects into bold, wearable art that sparks conversations about memory, material, and meaning.
Her latest collection shines a light on one of South India’s most sacred cultural emblems—the thali, a necklace symbolising marriage, tradition, and union. “The thali always fascinated me,” Raji shares. “Growing up, I saw my mother never go without it. That conveyed its importance. But I also wanted to reimagine it—make it comfortable, modern, and something you could wear proudly as fashion.”
🔮 Finding Beauty in Tradition
Raji’s designs bring the thali out of its private, hidden context and into the open as striking statement jewellery. “It’s always worn tucked away, but its structure and sensibility are so beautiful. I wanted to give it a place in contemporary design,” she explains.
Her personal journey shapes the collection, too. Raised in a defence family with South Indian roots and a North Indian upbringing, Raji always admired the thali’s symbolism but felt its traditional form wasn’t practical. “I took what intrigued me and worked it into something I could call mine,” she says.
🎨 Imperfection as Magic
Like all her reconstructed jewellery, the process embraces unpredictability. “Nothing’s uniform—sizes, metal tones, shapes. The inconsistencies force you to innovate. That’s where the magic happens,” Raji notes.
At the same time, she approaches tradition with sensitivity. “You can’t place these symbols in ways that feel disrespectful. People need to see the history and emotion—that’s how they connect.”
💍 The Wearer
The collection features thalis from different regions, each with unique identity and history. For Raji, the ideal wearer is “practical, strong-minded, and unafraid to stand out—someone exactly like me,” she laughs.
Now deeply rooted in Chennai, Raji credits the city’s history and culture as the soul of her work. “I never felt so connected to my roots until I moved here. Now, the soil, the stories—they’re in everything I make.”
With this collection, Raji Anand turns a deeply traditional symbol into future-forward heirlooms, offering a dialogue between past and present, ritual and reinvention.
