My Ring

I used to wear a slim silver ring which had a pearl at its centre. I had been wearing it for around 15 years. After some years of use, it used to get loose and I would get it fixed by the silversmiths. In my hometown they would charge me only Rs 10 for the job. They would heat a pair of metallic tongs and press the metal around the stone, thereby fixing it.

I needed to get the same job done while I was in Mumbai. But I found no jewellery shop agreeing to do the job! And to my horror, they criticized me and had a ‘you are so cheap’ look in their eyes when they saw me wearing this ‘light’ and ‘thin’ ring! One after the other all jewellers offered to help me only if I agreed to get some more metal and get the ring remade as a heavier one. That would make them earn some hundreds of rupees and I would get a big heavy ring. I didn’t like the idea as it would give me flashy jewellery and was costly too, but I had no choice. If I didn’t agree with them, I would have to bear with wearing a loose ring which had the risk of the stone getting out and losing itself. Ultimately I agreed to their design.

Just some weeks afterwards, I felt an itch in my little finger with ring. I took out the ring and was shocked to see the skin below it. The skin was swollen, pinkish and very different! I removed the ring for some time and it became alright. I wore the ring again and faced the same problem! Water would go inside the ring and since the ring was too bulky and big, it would keep some water beneath – resulting in skin becoming wet and swollen. I got the ring enlarged a bit but now it became more uncomfortable to wear because of its weight. After hanging on with it for some more weeks, I permanently removed the ring. I lost my dear ring and the white pearl – the ring that had witnessed ‘life’ with me.

I realised that I had made a wrong decision by agreeing with the money-minded jewellers. My earlier ring was thin, light and comfortable. It was unnecessary to use a ‘big’ and ‘heavy’ ring. The jeweller gained by making a heavy and big ring for me, but I lost.

‘Less’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘scarce’. We should be careful, because businessmen’s lust for money is creating an environment which doesn’t support those who are ‘content with less’. My dear ring gave me this message. I will try to get another thin and light ring made for me and will be content with it.

- Rahul