This trip I am making a lot custom orders and a friend of mine gave me a gold and diamond ring. She asked if we could melt the gold and use it in her piece and she wanted to give the diamond to Kumar as a gift.
The other day, as I was sitting with Kumar in his shop, he asked me, ‘Samia, you remember your friend? The one who has given me the diamond as a gift?’
I said, ‘Yes, Kumar, I remember.’
He said, ‘Well, I am thinking of also giving the diamond as a gift.’
I replied, ‘Wow, Kumar, that is so kind. Who are you thinking of giving the diamond to?’
Kumar then says, ‘Samia, not like that, not like that. There is one Goddess, her name is Saraswati. She is the Goddess of Wisdom and art and culture and there is one temple. I am thinking, I will make a nose ring or a pendant and give it to the Goddess Saraswati at the temple.’
How I love India. How I love Kumar.
So, I asked Kumar, ‘How would you feel if I told my friend your idea?” he replied, “you MUST tell your friend my idea. It is necessary.”
Kumar and I have been working very hard this week.. Above photos are what we have been up to.
Samia Shalabi is a Seattle based artist & designer, yogi and traveler who has roots in the Middle-East, was raised in the middle-west and is drawn to India. She has a degree in geology, has traveled all over the world with a backpack, and believes in following her dreams. Samia does yoga most mornings, enjoys walks around Seattle, loves to laugh, and daydreams about where to travel next. She is working on a movie shoot in France.
