If you are walking on the footpath adjacent to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce of Industry’s office, you will notice a man sitting with about seven showcases full of silver rings studded with different kinds of stones and gems. I have seen this man sitting there and selling rings for the last two decades. I remember very well that twenty years ago, I went to this ring vendor and enquired into the price of a silver ring which was quite beautiful and had a grey colour stone on it. He asked me my name and suggested me another ring. When I asked him why not the one with grey stone, he said it won’t suit my personality because my name starts with the letter‘R’.
I took his words for granted and bought another ring. As I was about to leave, this ring vendor told me that I must wear this ring for a fortnight on a trial basis. If I felt anything wrong with my health, job or money matters, I must return the ring to him and get a full refund. I did not pay any heed to his advice and forgot the matter. Recently, while cleaning my old cupboard, I found the ring which I had bought twenty years ago and decided to ask the ring vendor about the logic of wearing stones according to names, and whether wearing a particular stone can change a person’s life.
The ring vendor’s name is Furqan Ali Jauhari. His father was a well-known jeweller and cloth merchant of Delhi before partition. The family migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Furqan Ali had a keen interest in the knowledge of stones since his childhood and his father taught him the art of evaluating the stones. When I asked Furqan if wearing a particular stone played any part in a person’s life. In reply he quoted an example, saying that colour of everybody’s blood is red, but you have to check the blood group before infusing it to a person. If blood with a wrong group is infused in a person’s body, his condition will deteriorate and the person may even die.
According to him if you wear a stone and the rays passing through it does not suit your body and personality, you might land in trouble. Haven’t you heard of people who avoid to wear outfits of a particular colour just because it does not suit their personality? People who wear different types of stones often end up becoming garbage pickers. Have you seen Malangs (spiritual beggars) who wear ten to fifteen rings of different stones in all their fingers without knowing their significance? A stone can turn a king into a beggar and a beggar into a king. One must keep changing the stone of his ring according to the changes that occurs in the position of planets.
When asked as to which is the most expensive stone in the world, Furqan Ali said that Emerald is the most expensive of all stones. It is also found in Swat in Pakistan and Panjshir valley in Afghanistan. Emeralds found in Pakistan range from 25,000 carats to 50,000 carats. The colour, weight and size of the stone also matters as far as its value is concerned. White topez is found in Balochistan province but is not very expensive. Pakistan has huge reserves of Pukhraj stones in Balochistan province. The stone reserves are currently under growing stage. If these reserves are left untouched and allowed to ripe for another hundred years and then removed, Pakistan can become the richest country of the world. Firoza from Iran, Ruby from Afghanistan and Yaqoot from Indian city of Jaipur are very famous. Artificial stones are obtained from China and Bangkok.
Stones also have therapeutic effects. A stone named Dana-i-Firang is worn by people who have stones in kidneys. It is widely believed that wearing this stone gets a person rid of kidney stone problem. Many stones are also used in preparation of herbal medicines. Stones are the product of nature, and so they have various qualities. Some stones change their colours and shine with the passage of time. If a stone becomes more shiny, means it will have positive effect on the person wearing it. If it starts showing dullness in appearance, means it is bound to backfire at the user.
Explaining the logic of rays passing through the stones and touching a person’s body, Furan gave the example of a television that can be operated with a remote control. He said if you keep anything in between the remote and the TV, the rays of remote control will not reach the television set, and it will not work. Similarly, when the rays of light passes through the stones and touches a person’s body, they affect.
If you are walking on the footpath adjacent to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce of Industry’s office, you will notice a man sitting with about seven showcases full of silver rings studded with different kinds of stones and gems. I have seen this man sitting there and selling rings for the last two decades. I remember very well that twenty years ago, I went to this ring vendor and enquired into the price of a silver ring which was quite beautiful and had a grey colour stone on it. He asked me my name and suggested me another ring. When I asked him why not the one with grey stone, he said it won’t suit my personality because my name starts with the letter‘R’.
