Śakuntalā

"The Sanskrit word on the top of this ring has three meanings: To meditate, to wish, and to remember.

To meditate, because it is said that the ways of the world, of nature, and the knowledge of ancients, can penetrate the mind when it is still. 

The wish of this ring is to honour Sanskrit and spread a little of its beauty; a language that only becomes more incredible the more you learn about it.

The last meaning, to remember: I feel like much of the knowledge we require is already out there, and within us, and we’re not as much coming up with new ideas as we are remembering information that we’ve lost touch with… 

The bird etched on the side is a peacock to represent Kalidasa, as it can be said that Sanskrit’s beauty is represented by Kalidasa. But I chose the bird specifically for this piece to represent Śakuntalā, a heroine of ancient Indian mythology, specifically in a play known as Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The peacock is one of the birds that looked after her. A play about remembering, forgetting and fighting power hungry demons before finding love and taking a journey through heaven; a play centered around a ring. 

One fascinating thing about the Sanskrit language is the theory that it could significantly improve the efficiency of computers. Due to its grammar system, which is structured around 4000 concise, formal rules, some experts theorise that Sanskrit could be a practical method for representing meaning to computers without ambiguity."

- Harley Banks