Draped in exquisite jewels, Kangana Ranaut channels royal splendour, bridging centuries of tradition and modern elegance, says SAKSHI PRIYA
The story of Indian jewellery is inseparable from the story of civilisation itself. Long before commerce defined value, adornment in this land carried a language of power, devotion, and memory. Gold functioned as a vessel of mythology; gemstones acted as embodiments of celestial order. The Deccan, in particular, cultivated a design sensibility that merged geometry with grandeur, producing ornaments that spoke of intellect alongside opulence. This aesthetic finds revival through Saltanat - Regalia of the Royals by Raabta by Rahul, a collection that feels like historical rediscovery rendered through contemporary expression.
To understand Saltanat is to understand India's long romance with adornment. The Deccan courts, from Bijapur to Golconda, employed craftsmen who worked in secrecy, creating jewels for patrons who regarded artistry as sacred duty. Their work reflected a civilisation that saw no division between aesthetics and philosophy. Lions, elephants, and peacocks, recurring motifs in Raabta's new collection, function as living emblems of an intellectual heritage, symbols that carried both political and poetic meaning.
Rahul Luthra, the mind behind the collection, approaches design with both the precision of an archaeologist and the imagination of a poet. Each piece emerges from careful study of history, refined for relevance in the contemporary world. Polkis, baroque pearls, amethysts, golden topaz, materials with their own mythic vocabulary, are combined in compositions that retain proportion, symmetry, and narrative. Influences of miniature art, Islamic architecture, and Rajputana aesthetics converge in quiet harmony.
The collection celebrates restraint and intention. Pieces balance symbolism with movement, elegance with authority. They carry a historic gravitas reminiscent of royal ateliers where goldsmiths served dynasties. Every curve suggests a memory of Indian craftsmanship at its highest form: devotion to detail and purity of form.
When Kangana Ranaut appeared as the showstopper, she became a living metaphor for the collection's spirit. Clad in jewels that shimmered like heirlooms reborn, she personified a bridge between dynastic grace and modern individuality. The visual of her poised under chandeliers, the jewels glinting like fragments of forgotten palaces, reflected continuity and cultural depth.
Saltanat interprets the royal idiom through contemporary craftsmanship, creating designs that invite admiration and analysis. The artistry lies in subtlety and discipline, a recognition that heritage achieves brilliance through intent and precision rather than spectacle.
India's royal jewellery traditions have long been admired by the world for their complexity and spiritual resonance. Saltanat acts as an intellectual continuation of that lineage, reminding observers that adornment has always been philosophy made visible, an expression of culture enduring beyond kingdoms and crowns. Raabta by Rahul has sculpted a collection that bridges eras. As the jewels of Saltanat settle into their display cases and the runway fades, the question remains, can modern adornment capture the gravitas of centuries-old tradition while speaking to today's sensibilities? Can jewellery still carry stories of power, grace, and culture, or has it become mere spectacle? Raabta by Rahul dares to answer, inviting us to reconsider what it means to wear history and how elegance can define the present.
