User:Rpathy

SPARKLES SPEAK:

I shine, sparkle; I also speak……………. I do shine and sparkle when I am kept as an object de art in a show room of a shop. I start speaking the moment some one chooses to possess me. Only the wearer knows my language, because, I speak in silence. I am bought for one’s own use or more for gifting to others. I am known to represent and reflect emotions like Love, Affection, Care, Concern, Respect, Regard, Devotion & Gratitude depending on the relationship between the giver and the wearer. I am also a symbol of pride and prosperity and often adorn the crown and tiara of kings, queens and Emperors the world over. Right from the Maharajas of yonder, to the Moghuls and the British monarchs who ruled India, I was given due prominence of place. Even the deities of rich temples in India prefer to wear diamond studded crowns in their full resplendence.

I am a hardened carbon buried in the womb of mother earth having absorbed the warmth and pressure generated for millennia. Due to geomorphic changes and volcanic eruptions, I got pushed near the surface through rocky vehicles called kimberlites to find which the exploration companies are vying with one another.

Human desire and modern technology brought me over ground and added brilliance to my initial coarse appearance with a view to popularising me and to benefit from my value. I am physically defined by the four factors viz: Colour, Clarity, Cut and Carat called the 4Cs. Many do not know there are 4 other Cs attributed to me by the connoisseurs: Confidence, Commitment, Calibre and Care. I am not only associated with tenderness but also with toughness since the industrial tools use me in another form to cut the hardest objects. Though I come in different shapes and sizes, the message I convey is same as I am trying to create a bond between the people. Traders try to evaluate me on my physical factors. They know not how invaluable I am, since sentiments that I carry cannot be measured in scales and emotions that are embedded in me cannot be evaluated by electronic equipments.

I am known in India much before many others came to know of my value. It was customary for an Indian family to include me in their list of dowry. The traditional bride from an affluent family used to display her “thodu” (ear stud) and “padakkam” (pendant) while the bride groom would await the “thalai Deepawali” (the first festival of lights after marriage) to get a solitaire diamond ring from his in-laws. Those days, it was not a fashion but a tradition to possess me.

People who believe in superstition classify me as lucky and unlucky depending on their accomplishments or disappointments in life. Let me tell you, I am what I am; it is the demeanour of the people that changes my property. People who have indulged in undesirable activity have used me for wrong ends thus earning me a budnaam (bad name) like conflict diamond etc., I do not want to create conflict but strive to generate harmony and build confidence among people. I wish to remain with honest people who treat me as “amaanath” (trust) and not mere “doulat” (wealth). I like to be worn with the pride that I deserve and the trust that I am worthy of. I wish to be the VALUE that personifies virtue and not mere VANITY that just glitters like tinsel.

I would like to be associated with life and not death – as in some old Indian movies where a dejected heroine crushes me to powder and swallows to end her life. I want live for ever – as “Diamonds are for ever”.

I am the HEERA. I shall continue to EXPRESS………………..

- Narrated by: Raghupathy N Iyer