Wendy Doniger

Why are sex and jewellery, particularly finger rings, so often connected? Why do rings keep getting into stories about marriage and adultery, love and betrayal, loss and recovery, identity and masquerade? These questions appear to have piqued the interest of renowned American indologist Wendy Doniger for over two decades now. The result is a newly released title, The Ring of Truth (Speaking Tiger), where Doniger reveals why rings and other circular jewellery are not just mere objects of decoration, but also represent important cultural signifiers.

Her argument, which makes for a captivating read, takes us through Indian mythology, Medieval European romances, vignettes from folk culture and literature, as well as popular culture, where rings have, time and again, played a pivotal role in dramatically changing the course of events and human action. "I wrote several articles about rings almost 20 years ago, and gave lectures on them too. Each time I gave a lecture, someone in the audience would come up afterwards and tell me a story about a ring. Later, as I was teaching courses on Sanskrit texts, Greek myths and Shakespeare plays, and watching old movies, I began to notice the rings in them too," says 76-year-old Doniger.