The image of a new Punjabi bride wearing her red and white bangles with pride for many months after her marriage is one of the most enduring symbols today. TV serials and Bollywood have propagated this even further, and today even western girls marrying Punjabi men wear the “chura” with elan and love to show it off. But there is a much deeper significance to Indian women wearing bangles, the breaking of a woman’s bangles when her husband passes away is a very sad and heart rending custom.
The earliest examples of bangles were found in the ruins of ancient Indian culture in 2000 BC. Today a woman no matter how poor she may be will wear a simple bangle as a mark of her married status. In Punjab the placing of the “Chura”on the bride – to – be’s arms by her maternal uncles is a very auspicious occasion on the morning of the wedding.
Bangles signify the bond between a man and a woman due to their marriage. The strength of a band is meant to signify their never-ending love and respect for each other. The colour differs from region to region, based upon their traditions and rituals. In Maharashtra, women wear green and red glass bangles, in Bengal they wear white ivory and red lac bangles along with an iron bangle, in Gujarat and Rajasthan they wear ivory bangles gifted to them by their families. In these two states the wearing of the bangle before the “Saptapadi” is an important ritual and the marriage is not believed to be complete without it. In Tamil Nadu, during her seventh month of pregnancy, a woman is given bangles of all colours and designs by her family members to ward off the evil eye.
