Sofia- Dowry to Heirloom

In Episode 6, I speak to Sofia about "arranged marriage", dowry and how the loving sentiment of the pieces gifted to her from her parents and grandparents for her wedding still stands proud despite the marriage not working out. We talk about her mother's journey to the UK to meet her father who was part of the Merchant Navy, for the first time, and how he actually bought her mum, her wedding set that was especially designed and handcrafted for her as her family couldn't afford to buy her the set at the time. As the episode unravels, you can really hear Sofia's journey of enquiry to find out more about her own family's history, and since this first meeting on zoom, we have met in person and I could really feel the warmth from her. She even had her mum's wedding set on, and subsequently found a matching statement cuff that she showed me when we met at the Empowered Adornment event at Derby Musuems in early August of 2021. I really appreciated the honesty and openness in which Sofia shared her life experiences with me through out this episode, sharing how the jewellery pieces bought for her were key markers in the journey she's been on thus far. What was also really interesting was how her story shone a light on the role of a male in buying these jewellery pieces from her mum's wedding set bought by her father to the pieces her partner buys for her today. Sofia's story shows that it's up to the wearer of these pieces to attach memories that resonate with them to the jewellery- in her case she has chosen to associate her dowry with happy memories of her loved ones. Read more about Sofia's story and see photos of her jewellery here: https://www.anishaparmar.com/blogs/news/empowered-adornment-episode-6-dowry-to-heirloom A huge thank you to my participants that have trusted me with their incredible stories, my co producer and Editor of the series Molly Crossley and to the Arts Council for giving me the time and funding to delve into something that’s so close to my heart.  For more information about the project visit: www.anishaparmar.com/pages/empowered-adornment Follow me on Instagram @anishaparmarlondon If you would like to get in touch or have a Gold Jewellery Story to share email me: [email protected] Credits: Podcast Creator and Co Producer: Anisha Parmar Co Producer and Editor: Molly Crossley  In this Story: Sofia Music: Punjabi Beats by Ash Beat & Shahed | Chatterbox by Morethanthemind