Lord of the ring or ring of the lord?

Hi, my name is ring. No I am not the ring from ‘ring ring ringa ’ of Slumdog Millionaire. I was born out of human need to create art and vesting authority on non-living objects. It is believed that I and most of my cousins of our ornament family were created for purpose of show off. Sometimes we were created as per needs of the tribe we represent, with initial designs reflecting patterns of nature. Later on with advent of computers and auto designing creativity and price both have reached high ends. Earlier most of the work on us was done with human touch and feelings.

We rings have also been kind of representation of authority in non-living objects, which no other single community in our ornament world enjoy, our only competitor and winner being crown. In most cultures, Kings passed on the ring to next king. In many places, especially in Indian societies, mother in law passes on rings to eldest daughter in law, symbolising transfer of authority in managing homes. Rings also work as negotiators and a seal of deal in marriages, where rings are exchanged.

So what’s your story on rings?

Thumb rings, with inscription of ‘Om mani padme hum’ in Tibetan script

"Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"

-- H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, "Om Mani Padme Hum