Evil eye talismans charm Mumbai

MUMBAI: The superstitious can smirk gleefully at this one. Fashion’s latest trend urges Mumbai to tap into the cosmos’ healing energies.
Only, unlike the feng shui bamboos that the city’s holistic health conscious embraced recently, this one can be worn.
Enter the evil eye charm, straight from the streets of Turkey, guaranteed to protect its patrons from ‘buri nazar’.In retail outlets across the city, the evil eye has positioned itself comfortably as the Next Big Thing.
“The evil eye charm is originally from Turkey,’’ reveals Anand Bathija, partner at a store in Colaba. “It’s protection against evil, and at present it’s selling really well. Actually as a trend, it’s not restricted to Mumbai—it’s international, spanning the West and the Middle East.’’
The global momentum has been building for the past year and in true trickle-down fashion, Mumbai has now jumped onto the bandwagon. Literally resembling an eye, the beaded charm, blue in it’s original avatar, is positioned for unisex appeal.
Not just to be worn on the wrist or neck, set in silver or plastic (for children too), the evil eye also manifests itself in the formof wall hangings, key chains and magnets and is attractive enough for corporate gifting. Prices start at Rs 500 for the bracelets, going up to Rs 2,000 and more for the hangings.
“The wall hangings are actually sold out,’’ says Avinash Poorsawami, proprietor of a silver store on Napean Sea Road. Pricing may have something to do with that, since the wall hangings at the store are between Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000, and all from Turkey. In fact most stores import the charm.
“We import the beads (made of fibre glass, wood, plastic) from Turkey, because they originated there,’’ says Bathija. “Each bead colour stands for different qualities—blue for wisdom and serenity, black for complete protection, red for energy.’’
Mumbai’s enterprising spirit is such that not just the bigger stores stock the evil eye.