NEW DELHI: For Mona Bhardwaj, 42, gold jewelry is more than mere adornment. It is a family heirloom, a prudent investment and an auspicious metal at religious rituals. It is also a bride’s best friend. No wedding in India is complete without a bride decked in heavy gold jewelry.

But Bhardwaj’s two daughters do not share her emotional relationship with the metal, despite the gold smiley pendants and dolphin-shaped earrings she flashes before them.

“My daughters keep saying, ‘Nothing yellow, nothing yellow’. For them, gold is old,” Bhardwaj said.

“I think it is too gaudy and chunky,” said daughter Sonam Bhardwaj, 21, with a look of disgust. “Look at my mother.”

In India, where an economic boom has taken hold and tastes are noticeably shifting, Sonam represents one of the newest consumers on the block: a young urban woman who has distanced herself from India’s deep-rooted gold tradition.

Today, there are legions of young Indians whose eyes twinkle at the sight of not gold but luxury goods. Sonam, for example, is hoping for a new Nokia N-series phone next month for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. She already has Versace sunglasses and a Guess bag in her collection of fineries.

India is still the world’s largest consumer of gold, but only 40 per cent of the demand comes from urban areas. In cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai, surging incomes, changing lifestyles and the introduction of high-end goods have pushed gold downward on consumers’ lists of must-haves.

“The shopping basket has become bigger across urban India. The disposable income that traditionally went exclusively to gold is now going to diamonds, overseas holidays, a fancy car, the new flat-screen plasma TV, the latest model of cell phone in the market,” said Arvind Singhal, who heads Technopak, a consumer and retail consulting firm.

Aside from rising incomes, a Technopak report attributes the shift to Indians’ increasing “exposure to international lifestyles and media” as well as easier credit. Sales of luxury homes, cars and expensive electronics, the report notes, have registered double-digit growth in recent years.

As for gold, it’s a new day. Traditional gold-giving occasions, closely tied to Indian rituals and festivals, are now a brand battleground as companies compete to sell their products. The Finnish cell phone giant Nokia began promoting its wares as gifts during this year’s brother-sister festival, called Raksha Bandhan.

The gold industry isn’t about to surrender. Analysts note that as young urban Indians are turning away from gold, the rural market is opening up. Industry representatives say that sales are reaching new highs and that they’re eager to try new appeals to urban working women.

“Gold rules supreme in the traditional wedding market in India. But we want to capture the non-wedding occasions by introducing internationally designed gold jewelry that looks light, trendy and feels contemporary,” said Madhumita Dutta, head of marketing development for the World Gold Council in India. About 80 per cent of gold in India is bought for weddings, and gold advocates say that will not change. Their product has a hallowed place in this country’s cultural heritage.—Dawn-LAT/WP News Service (c) The Washington Post