Ribbed Barrel Bead Payal with Ghungroo Ends

Payal is simply the Hindi word for an anklet, and in most of India it is still the first piece of jewellery a girl is given and the last an older woman takes off. It is worn as a pair, one on each ankle, and traditionally it was meant to be heard as much as seen — the sound announced that someone was coming, which in a joint household was a courtesy rather than a performance.

A closer look

Three large barrel beads sit at the centre of this anklet, each one ribbed around its circumference with deep parallel grooves so the surface breaks light into a series of bright rings rather than reflecting it as one highlight. They are strung in a row with fine coiled collars between them, and a smooth snake chain runs either side out to the hooks, where a small cluster of ghungroo bells hangs at each end.

This is the one anklet in the range with no stone, no charm and no colour — it is entirely a metalworking piece, and the ribbing is doing all the work. Fluting a bead is an old solution to a simple problem: a plain polished bead at this size looks heavy and dull, while the same bead grooved along its length looks lighter than it is and catches movement far better. The same reasoning produces the fluted collars on a bangle and the ribbed caps at the end of a cord necklace.

Because the three beads are grouped at the centre rather than spread along the chain, they sit together at the front of the ankle and read as a single deliberate ornament. There is nothing hanging from them, so nothing swings and nothing catches on a sock.

Metal and stones

German silver is the trade name for a bright white alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. It contains no silver at all. What it does have is a hard, cool-toned surface that takes an oxidised finish well and resists scratching better than plated brass, which is why almost every everyday Indian anklet is made to look like it.

When to wear it

At 10.5 inches this is one of the longer anklets here and sits slightly lower, which suits the weight of the beads — they settle at the front rather than riding up. Wear it with bare ankles, cropped trousers or a saree. Because it carries no colour and no symbol it goes with absolutely anything, including other jewellery in gold.

A note on wearing a pair rather than one. Single anklets have become common and there is nothing wrong with wearing one, but a pair sits differently: the two sounds fall slightly out of step as you walk, which is what produces the soft irregular jingle people associate with payal rather than a single repeating note.

Care and storage

An anklet lives a harder life than any other piece of jewellery. It meets shoes, floors, door frames and bedsheets, and it is the piece most likely to be worn into the shower because taking it off is a nuisance. Water is what dulls an oxidised finish fastest, so slip it off before bathing where you can. A dry soft cloth is the whole cleaning routine — never a silver polish or a dip, which strip the blackening the design depends on.