Goa, Dec. 19 -- KARSTEN MIRANDA

Founded in 1927, more than three decades before Goa's Liberation, Ulhas Jewellers stands among the State's oldest surviving family-run commercial establishments. Its history is closely intertwined with Goa's social and economic transitions, spanning nearly a century of change.

The business was started in Margao by Pandharinath Amrutrao Verlekar, who began as a small trader in gold and silver jewellery during the Portuguese period. At the time, jewellery purchases were rooted in tradition rather than luxury, closely associated with weddings, religious occasions and family inheritance, with trust and personal reputation forming the backbone of the trade.

Over the years, the enterprise expanded steadily und...