'Chuda' an integral part of Punjabi wedding.

Spotting a newly-married Punjabi woman in India is easy. Dozens of red and cream ivory bangles adorning her wrists speak aloud about her marital status. These set of bangles in ivory, lac or plastic with intricate inlay work painted or engraved on it are adorned on the bride's wrist after a

traditional ceremony called "chuda chadana". 'Chuda' or 'Chooda' is an integral part of Punjabi wedding.

This ceremony is performed on the day of

wedding. The bride to be takes bath with

water brought from a temple and sits for this

ceremony. A 'puja' is performed by a priest.

Chooda is a set of red/maroon and cream

bangles with rich and intricate work on it. This

is brought by

the girl's maternal uncle and aunt. The interesting part is that the girl is not  supposed to see it before wearing. So it is kept covered with unboiled ('kachcha') milk in a pan. Originally, these bangles were made of ivory, but nowadays ivory has been replaced by plastic or lac. The girl's uncle makes her wear them. Once she wears them, everyone present touches it and gives her wishes for a successful married life.

Tinkling bells of the Kaleerey
The chuda ceremony can never be complete without the 'kaleerey'. These dome shaped streamers with tinkling silver and gold bells are considered auspicious for the bride. The bride's cousins and friends tie them to the chuda. They are like blessings for the bride for her new life and also to remind her of her old friends. It is said that the bride has as many friends as there are leaves in the kaleerey. So the more leaves the merrier!

Traditionally, the girl is supposed to wear it for 1.25 months or 1.25 years. A span of 1.25 is considered auspicious in almost all Punjabi traditions. But if the lady gets pregnant while she is wearing Chooda, she is required to get it off before delivery of the baby. Gradually, people have become less stringent and girls wear it as long as they want.

The 'barhaana' ceremony is generally not as elaborate as the one of wearing it. On an auspicious day ( generally the priest is asked for an appropriate date), the girl wears new clothes which are supposed to be given to her by her mother. An elder lady of the family puts 'gur'(jaggery) and ' chawal' (rice) in the girl's lap. These are supposed to be cooked and distributed to the relatives, the next day of the ceremony. Then the lady takes off the bangles from the girl's wrists and replaces them with pink/red glass bangles and a gold bangle. Then 'waarna' ( a gesture in which some money is revolved around the head and given to a poor. This is meant to keep all bad omen away) is performed for the girl. The bangles are then covered with a piece of red cloth and either given to a priest in temple or they are made to flow in a river (' jal parwah')

Happy Wedding!!

Love

Reshma

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