Bengali households often have a rich set of traditional items that are passed down as heirlooms from generation to generation. These are either pieces of jewellery, clothing, or any kind of utensil. For our family, it is the Pooja utensils that my mother received from my grandmother, and which my grandmother had once received from my great-grandmother.

My grandfather recalls his mother, Snehalata Majumder to always be well dressed and adorned. Some of my family members even remember her being weighed against gold during her marriage. I never met my great-grandmother in person, but when I wore this bracelet, which once belonged to her, I was overwhelmed.

For many, medals and other service memorabilia might just be pieces of metal and cloth till the time one realizes the history and the struggle that is undertaken to earn them. The courage and sacrifice of my ancestors is embedded within these medals; each disk, each ribbon is laced with their ambition and dedication.

This lehenga was given to my paternal grandmother as part of her wedding trousseau in 1930 and dates back to that time, most likely having been made in Varanasi. It accompanied her when she got married and moved to Ajmer, Rajasthan from her natal home in Indore. Many decades later, she presented this lehenga to my mother, who then brought it to her home city, Jodhpur.

Molded into a large rounded jar, 31 inches in height and 16 inches in depth, this floor-placed vessel is made entirely of brass and was the container that stored the entire family’s stock of sugar. It was known as a ‘Chatee’ and had enough capacity to store at least one hundred kilograms of sugar within it.