Why Do Indian Women Wear Bangles

Why Do Indian Women Wear Bangles

- Harish Desai

Introduction

The tradition of Indian women wearing bangles started in ancient times. However, to this day, the custom continues. Women in India wear bangles to enhance their feminine grace and beauty. These bangles are available in various colors and designs. The word bangle has been derived from the traditional word Bangri or Bangali, which in Sanskrit these words mean ‘the ornament that adorns the arm’. Bangles are ornaments by both unmarried women and married women in India. Bangles have a long history and are being made from various materials including glass, conch, different metals, gold and ivory. The traditional bangles of Punjab are made from ivory and those from Bengal are made from conch.

Historically, there is strong evidence that Indian women have been adorning their arms with bangles since ancient times. One of the oldest art objects in India, the bronze figurine of a dancing girl excavated at Mohenjo Daro epitomizes the antiquity and the universality of wrist ornaments in India. The figurine stands in the nude with one arm at her hip, the other arm completely weighted down with a collection of bangles. Even the Yakshinis are depicted wearing bangles. Banabhatt’s Kadambari has a reference to goddess Saraswati – the goddess of learning who is shown as wearing kangans. Ancient fragments testify that bangles were made from terracotta, stone, shell, copper, bronze, silver, gold, lac, etc. Bangles are also made of glass.

Significance of bangles for married women