Beautiful Bangles

Bangles, also called Choodis in Hindi, are traditionally worn women in South Asia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Bangles are an important part of a married woman's general attire. Many women wear glass bangles from the day they get married and keep them on till the last one breaks. Punjabi women wear a set of Choodas or bangles on their wedding day. Traditionally, they keep these on for at least one year after marriage. Bengali women wear a set of white and red bangles on each hand to indicate her marital status. It is considered inauspicious in certain parts of India for women to go bare armed, without wearing bangles. Even toddlers are made to wear bangles, usually made of gold or silver. In fact, in many parts of North India, a new widow breaks her glass bangles by banging them against the wall, until each one of them breaks free from her wrists. The wearing of bangles has been as ancient a culture as Mohenjo-Daro itself. Several types of bangles, made from gold, silver, copper, bronze, agate and so on, have been excavated from archaeological sites from all over India and many parts around the world.

Bangles, which are usually circular in shape (some fashion bangles available today come in various shapes as well), are made of a variety of different materials such as gold, silver, platinum, glass, wood, plastic, sea shells, Lac, terracotta, Mother of Pearl and other ferrous metals. While the younger generation prefers to wear colorful bangles made of plastic or metal, married women still ornament their wrists with gold and glass bangles, especially on marriages and religious functions. Bangle designs can similarly vary from very simple to very elaborate. Handmade designs are often very intricate and include precious and semi-precious stones. These are much more expensive than the ordinary ones, depending upon the metal used to make the bangle. Some bangles also include a small bell hanging from it, in order to make a tinkling sound whenever the wearer moves her hand. While glass bangles are mostly manufactured in Firozabad in North India, the city of Hyderabad is most famous for its handmade stone-studded bangles, available at a market especially created for them, called Laad Bazaar.