Bengali Bridal Jewellery: The dazzling "bodhu"
Hello beauties.... Its been very long since my last post on
Bridal Banter. Apologies :) Continuing with the essence of a beautiful Bengali bride, after the wedding
saree post (Read
HERE), next place is surely grabbed by the jewellery. Before I go on
with this post, let me clarify one important point; something which I also
mentioned in the Benaroshi Saree post: Just because I like Bengali bridal
jewellery, doesn’t mean I dislike the other kinds. What irks me is the fact
that, inspite of so many traditional options for jewellery designs available in
the various states of India, we are now just aping the Bollywood :-/ Result? A Punjabi bride = a Bengali Bride = a
Gujrati bride = an Assamese bride and so on. Opinions will differ, but I
personally feel that you look your best when you stick to your traditional
touch on your special day J And yes,
there ARE many scopes to ‘customize’ the tradition into something you will love
;) Just ditch the flashy magazines and put on your thinking caps :D
Moving on, as usual
there was an appalling shortage of Bengali bridal jewellery designs on the internet and I found “my kind of” designs in the Facebook Page of A.Sirkar & Co Jewellers. Most of
the designs you find in this post will be from them, except for a few which
caught my fancy too on google (Permission has been taken from A.Sirkar & Sons to use their images). Be ready for a visual treat :D
1. Taira & Tikli (Forehead
Accessories)
Starting from the crowning glory, the Taira
and Tikli would always rule a Bengali bride’s jewel assemble. The “tikli” or
maangtikka, used for a traditional Bengali bridal look is generally not a
kundan one. It is something with intricate gold designs like this one! I am
bowled over by this design by A. Sirkar. Loving the white rice pearls dangling
below.
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
The “taira” is essentially a horizontal
chain-like ornament (often stuck to the “Tikli”) which was originally used to
hold the “orna” over the bride’s head. The Bengali bridal “orna”, unlike the
heavy embellised dupattas of rest of India, is made of tulle or tissue fabric.
To hold these lightweight veils, a taira comes in handy :) This one is from Google images.
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| Image Courtesy: Google Images |
2. Khopa (Hair accessories)
Now this will spell “luxury” for many :)Traditional Bengali brides in the past used a
pure gold net like this one to cover their “khopa” or bun and keep it in place.
Additional clips (also in gold) were used to accessorize their lustrous black
hair even more. Look at these awesome designs by A.Sirkar :D I still think
spending on gold to look good on your special day is better than spending
almost the same amount on dresses which won’t last an eternity :)
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
3. Kaaner-dul (Earrings)
The traditional Bengali ear
ornaments include Jhumka, Kaan Jhumka
(Ear cuffs with jhumkas), kaan baala (Shaped like the commonly known
chandbaali), Paasha (oversized studs) etc :)Take a
look at these stunning designs by A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers again!
Complete gold jhumkas for that
heavy zari “laal benaroshi” or the meenakari jhumka for the colorful sarees
worn in reception party!
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
Long danglers to dazzle you
regally on your day.....
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
......or ethereal kaan baala to make you look like the perfect Bengali bride
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
Tired of wearing heavy jewellery? How about these exotic
rose-shaped kaan-pasha which you can wear on the functions pre and post
wedding?
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
I tried finding the stunning kaan-jhumka on the A.Sirkar page,
but sadly couldn’t find one. You might get that in their showroom :) I managed to get two designs of Kaan-jhumka from
google images. I plan to wear the kaan-jhumka which my maa wore on her wedding
(Its way prettier than these two! Mwahahaha)
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| Image Courtesy: Google Images |
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| Image Courtesy: Google Images |
4. Nauth (Nath, Nose Ring)
Bengali brides were known to wear
large gold nose rings. The legend goes, the larger the ring, the more “genteel”
family the bride belonged to! Sadly, most of us do not have nose piercings
these days and end up wearing smaller nose rings (or worse! No nose ring at
all). There is something about a Bengali bride, a huge golden ring and red
bindi which instantly gives a goddess like look to her J I am wearing one huge one for my day ;) For now, check these awesome bridal pics by DnA Photographix for some Nauth designs.These will give you an idea!
5.Haar (Necklace)
Again, the most eye-catching
pieces of jewellery a bride wears is definitely the necklace. Bengalis have
many kinds of traditional bridal necklaces crafted out of gold. The craftmanship
of these beauties will make you go weak in the knees. The paati haar (flat designed necklaces which delicately sits on the
neck), Cheek (or choker: the
inch-wide neckalce with intricate designs to be worn as a collar), Sita Haar or Rani haar (The long ROYAL
necklaces) etc form just a few of the myriad designs. Take a look at A.Sirkar’s fabulous craftmanship.
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
For pre and post wedding
functions you can even try out light designs like these :)
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| Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
6. Angtee & Maantasha
Again Google images disappointed
me BIG time and I could end up with only two images. Bengali brides in
traditional avatar generally prefer at least one such oversized gold ring. The
other one on the left is called a Maantasha which is a kind of bracelet and
which I am conveniently skipping because it is not a personal favourite :P
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| Image Courtesy: Google Images |
7. Haater Goyna (Jewellery for hands)
Here am back with all A.Sirkar
designs again (what a relief!) Some of the traditional Bengali hand ornaments
include Shakha-Paula (Conch shell and
coral bangles), Baala, Konkon, Choor (I will be having all! Yay :D ) I also
spotted a wonderful “noborotno baala”
(Navratna bangle) in their collection. Check and drool ;)
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| Choor and Navratna baala: Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
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| Gold studded shakha-Paula:Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
The Bengali bride also wears
kamarbandh and payel, but sadly, I could not find any designs on the net which
caught my fancy L So, I
shall leave you all to drool over these stunners and sigh ;)
Dont Forget to check A.Sirkar & Co.Jewellers page on Facebook HERE
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| Konkon: Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
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| Baala: Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
Dont Forget to check A.Sirkar & Co.Jewellers page on Facebook HERE
Ahem! Back to earth? :D So now
tell me, have I managed to stir up the forgotten love for Bengali jewellery
again? If yes, stop being a “me-too” and take pride in being the regal Bengali
bride <3 See ya next time!
A very close friend of mine recently got married and this is her Necklace collection :D Wonderful, isn't it?
A very close friend of mine recently got married and this is her Necklace collection :D Wonderful, isn't it?
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| www.eleganteves.com |
The Shaada-Laal Paar Sharee (White saree with red border) also brings out the quintessential beauty of a Bengali bride. Here is another pic for you all from A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers which portrays the bride in full regalia! The jewels she is wearing are : Kaan baala, Choker, kamarbandh, Golap Phool pata baala (Bangles with rose leaves pattern), jhooro choori (delicately carved bangles), Shakha-Paula, Nauth, oporhaath (bajubandh) and last but DEFINITELY not the least, chaabir chhora or the gold key chain (how could I forget this!) :D Enjoy!
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| Bengali Bride: Image Courtesy: A.Sirkar & Co. Jewellers |
P.S. Bridal pictures are taken from DnA Photographix. Check out their jaw-dropping good bridal portrait clicks in their Facebook page HERE
Keep coming back to this section
for more!
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