India wedding jewelry consists of sets of in gold, diamonds, pearls and other precious metals and stones. These jewelry sets consists of earrings, chokers and bangles. It is customary for the bride's family to gift these jewelry sets to their soon to be married daughter. In India, you could say, marriage and jewelry go side by side.
The India wedding jewelry consists of different ornaments such as the mangal sutra, bindi, earrings, bangles, nose ring and rings, which are worn by brides all over the country. Earlier, ornaments like armlets and waistbands used to be worn but are now no longer in vogue.
Among India wedding jewelry, rings are a traditional symbol of matrimony and are worn by both men and women. A married woman in India of the Hindu origin must wear the mangal sutra or a thaali around her neck. The mangal sutra also worn around the neck consists of a necklace of black beads strung on a gold chain with a pendant at the end, which is either a symbol of OM or the gods. The black beads are supposed to protect the marriage against evil. The thaali is normally worn by women from South India which is a pendant worn on a thick yellow thread. When the thread wears out a new one replaces it.
The chura is another symbol that consists India wedding jewelry. It is a set of red bangles given to the bride from the maternal side of the family. As a symbol of being married the bridegroom also presents the bride with toe rings. In North India, however, women deck their arms with bright green and red bangles. This is called the chooda, which is presented by the mother of the bride to symbolize her newly acquired marital status, which she has to wear for at least 40 days after the wedding ceremony. Traditionally, the chooda is a set of ivory bangles with inlay work on them. There are modern versions available in a cheaper form in plastic and acrylic.
In the north eastern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar married women must wear the bichwa or toe rings as it is called. Among Sindhis, married women wear the traditional gold earrings each studded with nine diamonds. Up further north, in the Himalayan region, Kashmiri Brahmin women wear the dejhoru and aath horu, which is an ornament worn in the pierced cartilage of the ear which has a cord suspended from it at one end. Among muslim married women, the nose ring is vital.
By: F. Peris
