It's an Indian jewellery brand that
the global trade respects, as do loyal clients like the royal families of Nepal
and Mysore. Bangalore-based Ganjam Nagappa and Son is a name that has struck
international gold ever since a young man named Nagappa decided to explore the
secrets of jewellery in the Oriya village of Ganjam in 1889.
Proud of its past, with a vision for
the future, Ganjam is represented perfectly by its logo — the two-headed
mythological bird, the Gandeberunda. Its recent honours are significant. Such
as the 2002 International Gold Virtuosi award, likened to the Oscars by the
trade. Or participation at the Milan Fashion Week in 2003. At the 2005 national
Tahiti Pearls contest, Ganjam won top honours in both the necklace and bracelet
categories.
Ganjam has a presence in Japan and
Singapore, boasting of World Lines by Japanese designer Kazuo Ogawa, the
Italian house of Torrini and others at its Ganjam by Design boutique at
Bangalore's Leela Palace hotel. The brand is set to open at Mumbai's Taj Mahal
Palace and Tower in May.
Its social conscience is highlighted
through its collaboration with Birdlife International, dedicated to the
preservation of rare birds in their natural habitats, with the Japanese
Imperial Highness Princess H. Takamado as its honorary president. It has also
tied-in with the Bone Marrow Donor Programme in Singapore.
At the head of it all is the
company's soft-spoken, 50-plus joint managing director, Umesh Ganjam. A man who
might have opted to be a pilot, a photographer or even a filmmaker, if life had
dealt him a different hand.
During his growing years, Umesh was
shaped by unusual influences. Such as a passion for sports, a dream of joining
the Indian Air Force. And a deep-rooted identification with his maternal
grandparents' idyllic rural lifestyle at Kastur, near Maddur, where forests and
folk rituals formed the backdrop to his vacations.
Coaxed into the Ganjam fold, known
for its evaluation of the Nizam of Hyderabad's fabled jewellery, he recalls a
stint at diamond cutting in Bombay (now Mumbai) around 1974 through the lens of
Varahamira's `Jyotishsastra': "What fascinated me? The raw diamond, with a
thin skin over it, is beautiful. By human intervention, we could be spoiling
it... To me, a diamond is not about how much it weighs. It is about character,
about personality emerging."
As if under a magnifier, other
facets of Umesh emerge by degrees. His only film, Grahana, based on a
Kastur story, won the Golden Peacock at home and Berlinale honours in 1976. Alongside
Dhiraj Chavda, he was one of four photographers who documented Hampi for the
first time for the Karnataka government, before visually interpreting
Kalidasa's Meghadootam. As a natural corollary, Ganjam's recent
calendars have featured poetic, tantalising photographs by Prabuddha Das Gupta.
Umesh's first visit to Singapore at
23, on a Government of India trip, prompted a dream: "I saw Chinese and
Malayan jewellers, who were selling alongside strong brands like Cartier and
Tiffany. I fantasised that, one day, Ganjam would be a brand like them."
The creative streak in the young
graduate manifested itself in Ganjam's first boutique at the then new Utility
Building on M.G. Road. With wall panels in red and yellow Mysore raw silk, moving
beyond the navaratna, it displayed western gemstones at a stylish
counter. "The idea was that customers could come in and choose stones, and
we'd design individual jewellery for them in either gold or silver. Value was
not as important as customer satisfaction," asserts Umesh.
But the Gold Control Act intervened.
Ganjam diversified into electronics such as digital clocks, even the selling of
HMT watches. Umesh's decade away from the jewellery business reinforced other
values. Such as a commitment to the environment. To the rural economy, even to
handicrafts, partially inspired by renaissance figures like Kamaladevi
Chattopadhyaya and Sunderlal Bahuguna. Along with like-minded friends, he set
up SAVE (Society for Afforestation and Verdant Earth) and the crafts
organisation, Mrichchakattika.
Moving to Uttarkashi to work with
the Chipko leader, participating in the Appiko and Western Ghats movements,
SAVE worked towards reforesting the Sakleshpur area between Hassan and
Mangalore. From 1986-89, they mapped the Karnataka shola lands, a document now
with the World Bank. They even won a Supreme Court case that forced the
government to introduce unleaded petrol.
But Umesh's commitments are perhaps
best showcased within the Ganjam environment. As he mingles with talented
designers, extolling their remarkable creativity. Or as he talks sensitively to
the Ganjam karigars, the first in India to handcraft platinum jewellery.
Even as he lauds the original creations of his craftsmen, his contemporary sensibility
is equally at home with Ganjam's traditional karigars, still crafting
24-carat gold over fires fuelled by coconut fibre and paddy husk, like their
forefathers centuries ago.
Where would he slot himself within
Ganjam? "We're much more introspective, critical of what we're doing
consciously. We'd like to benchmark against the best in the world, irrespective
of whether we'll become the No. 1 jeweller or not," Umesh responds.
Extolling the perfection of the
Kalaishnath temple at Ellora, Umesh insists that his karigars should
receive Ganjam's awards alongside its designers. He muses, "In Italy, a
skilled jeweller enjoys the same respect as a... sculptor! A brilliant
diamond-setter comes in after a lunch with grappa. He parks his Lamborghini in
the portico. He sits next to the director... How can our jewellery be flawless
when we don't treat our craftspeople with respect or dignity?"
Modestly, Umesh concludes:
"We're trying to create the right environment for experiments. I'm very
lucky to have good people around me who share this collective vision. Because
we have some common interest, we come together. Because we sustain that
interest, we stay together. Because of our collective tenacity, we achieve
together."
That vision could inspire a Ganjam
surge. Perhaps to a future niche alongside Cartier, Tiffany, or Van Cleef &
Arpels.
(The Hindu Business Line, 2006)
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