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Piyush

"I learned my craft from my mother, who began designing jewelry in Lucknow in late 1960s. Hailing from a family with rich traditional ties, I did not find many difficulties learning the art.

"Hello, my name is Piyush. I was born in 1962, and I grew up in a city with a rich artistic heritage and exotic handcrafts. My homeland is also famous salwar kameez, an Indian attire for women featuring pants and a stole, and duppatas, which are long scarves.

"At first my mother began trading jewelry made with artificial stones due to a lack of finances. However, her designs became highly appreciated and, after three years, she started designing with natural gemstones. After completing the 12th grade, I decided to join my mother in her work. By this time, all my brothers were already working with her. For me it was not difficult at all to learn this art form, and soon I was ready to exhibit my work alongside my mother's. My work has been well received and now my jewelry pieces can be seen throughout India.

"I have studied extensively the various features of gemstones, and I try to use the best selection of gemstones in all my jewelries. Most of my designs are traditional, yet I also attempt new designs based on customer's requirements. I have learned a lot in my 20-something years of designing and crafting jewelry, and I continuously aspire to do better. I won an Award in Excellence in 2002 from the Uttar Pradesh Government. I decorated an empty egg with multiple gemstones - it was beautiful! However, by far my favorite creation has been a huge necklace I called Vermalla, meaning "wedding garland," which I finished only recently - it measured 4 feet in length.

"As I go ahead in life I want to utilize my talents for creating beautiful things. I also want to teach the people of my land the art of jewelry so that at least one of India's legacies goes to live forever."