Bangles - the Indian marriage ornament

Varied in material and decoration, bangles are among the primary ornaments worn by Indian women and are an important indication that the wearer is a married woman. Gold is especially favoured material for bangels but is less common than other materials. Lac bangles have been widely used in India since ancient times. They are worn singly or in sets and made in many colours and with many forms of surface decoration including tiny mirrors and gold leaf. Iron bangles are sometimes encased in gold and those of conch shell are traditionally worn by married women in West Bengal.
In Rajasthan ivory bangles are common. In some places they are worn in sets that go from wrist to armpit. An ideal set of ivory bangles includes 17 worn on upper arm and 9 worn on the lower arm. A total of 52 in both arms. Because of its high cost ivory is being replaced by white plastic nowadays.

Glass bangles are the most common of all. Every town has a special bangle bazaar where women spend hours making their selection of patterns and colours. The range of colours available is enormous. Brides usually wear red bangles, and for everyday use the colour is often chosen to match the sari of the day.

Bangles seller in Delhi

Glass bangles are fragile and when broken must be replaced. When a married woman becomes a widow as an expression of grief on losing her husband she smashes her glass bangles.
Glass bangles are worn by women of all classes of society, rich and poor. They may also be worn by girls but for a married woman it is a necessity. Generally between eight and twelve glass bangles are worn on each wrist, twenty four in two matching sets, but no rigid rules about numbers exist. Nowadays glass bangles are often combined with those of gold.

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