Significance of Chooda and Sindoor !!

“Bahan Gorian De Wich Chuda Mere Hathan De Wich Mehndi”

Indian marriages have always been filled with all the traditional elements. Each factor and each element of an Indian wedding is filled with the beauty of Indian culture and its fragrance. And that’s why we have the concept of “Solah Shringaar”

When a bride gets married she undergoes lot of changes be it emotionally or physically and there are a few changes in her look as well which marks her wedding day as the most important and auspicious day of her life.

Two of my favorite adornments in the “Solah Shringaar” are Bangles and Sindoor and therefore I will be talking about them here. Me being from a Punjabi background, the major visible change that I noticed in brides after marriage are “chooda” and “sindoor” and that’s just the reason for my love for these adornments.

Starting with the Bangles, it is worn by every bride, every married woman across traditions in some or the other way. Be it Shakha Pola in West Bengal, Gold Bangles in South India, Green glass bangles worn by Maharashtrians, Kundan work bangles adorned by Rajasthani brides and my Favourite “Chooda” worn by the Punjabi Brides.

Because of my love towards Punjabi weddings and customs I want to talk about “Chooda” in detail.  A Punjabi bride wears white and red colored bangles popularly known as chooda a day before her wedding day. A chooda is a set of 21 red and white bangles and according to the ritual, a bride has to wear them for at least a year post her marriage.

There is a ceremony or function before the marriage where the bride’s maternal uncle puts the chooda in the arms of bride. Before this ceremony, the chooda is washed in milk which supposedly purifies it. Another important point in this ceremony is that bride can’t see her chooda till the time of marriage. So she is blindfolded in the ceremony till the time a cloth is tied on that. Basically brides see their chooda when they are getting ready for the marriage.

Chooda is always worn in combination with delightful bell-shaped hangings known as “Kalire” which are tied on by the female cousins and sisters. Kalire are moved above the heads of unmarried females of the family, with the intent that they will get married soon. But poor me, I have received the tiny bits of kalire so many times all these years but I am still unmarried sharing my fondness for them with you.

After the Wedding, the Chooda is usually removed after a year by the groom’s sister and is kept safely with the bride’s mother.  Yes, there is a ceremony to take-off the Chooda as well.

Not to forget that Chooda because of the immense beauty it provides to a bride has became a trend in weddings and is now available in countless varieties starting from a simple plain red and white ivory tusk bangles to diamond studded,grooms name written customized choodas.

Now, the next of my favorite adornment out of the 16, it is the Sindoor or Vermillion. It is a must for married woman in Hindu Traditions. The Indian bride holds great pride in wearing a sindoor, which adds to the beauty of a married woman. Red is the color, which is considered the symbol of happiness, love and marriage in India.

One of the very important facts about sindoor is that the length of the sindoor of an Indian Bride complements to the years and the age that her husband will live for. That’s the reason that our mothers, sisters and bhabhi’s keep on decorating their foreheads in the best possible way. And now I know why my bhabhi spends forever decorating her sindoor’s shape and texture in front of the mirror.

An Indian bride is made to apply sindoor first time by her husband, at the time of their wedding and I find that extremely romantic and sweet.

Traditionally sindoor is made with turmeric and metal mercury which is said to have physiological signiface as well like controlling blood pressure. But with the change in trends, even sindoor is available in varieties.

From the traditional powder to glossy liquid tubes to sparkles to decorate the edges of the mark, in today’s time everything is available.....To read more visit http://ourvivaha.com/blog/significance-of-chooda-and-sindoor/