An Indian bride, on her wedding day, wears various ornaments from her head to her toes. Important among these are bangles. Also addressed as Choodis, Bangdya, Kangans (and by several other names), bangles form a vital part of an Indian married woman’s attire. In fact; as per the Hindu customs, it is inauspicious for a woman to leave her arms bare. Modern women have bent these rules a bit; many opt to wear inconspicuous bracelets instead of elaborate bangles and some have even given them up completely. That being said; bangles form an important part of the bridal trousseau and are definitely worn by brides on the wedding day.
Wedding Bangles have a different significance in different communities. The colors of glass bangles also have different meanings. Accordingly, red stands for energy, blue bangles signify wisdom; green is the perfect wedding color that signifies good luck, yellow stands for happiness and so on.
On the day of the wedding, the bride-to-be applies scented oil on her Mehendi decorated palms. Amidst much ceremony, her friends and sisters help her put on bangles of varying thicknesses and colors. After the wedding ceremony, the bride continues to wear these bangles in order to bring health, wealth and good luck to her groom.
Bangles made of various metals as well as non metals (including lac, ivory, mud, glass, copper, bronze, shell, agate, stones etc) have been found in several archeological digs in India. This signifies the importance these ornaments had in ancient cultures.
Today, modern Indian brides have a greater variety in bangles. One can choose them in gold, platinum, silver etc and they may also come studded with different types of gems, precious/non precious and semi precious stones. Brides can also choose bangles based on the theme and colors of the Wedding day. Here are some beautiful bangles worn by our beautiful brides….
