The sweet moments of wedding are not only unforgettable for the bride and the groom but also for the near and dear ones. One such moment is the chuda ceremony which is celebrated at bride’s place just a day before the wedding. Once the chuda has been worn, the bride’s friends and cousins tie Kalire to the chuda. Kaliras (or known as kalire) are ornaments worn on the hands of Punjabi brides. While this is traditionally a Punjabi wedding custom, most brides these days opt to wear them thanks to our bolly movies.
They hang like beautiful chandeliers and come in a range of colors to match any outfit.These are pieces of umbrella shaped gold or silver ornaments. These signify good wishes for the bride’s new life ahead and are also meant to remind her of her friends and cousins. It is said that the number of leaves on kalire are as many as bride’s friends. Kalire’s are encrusted with dried coconut and dried beetle nuts.
I absolutely love the way they look, needless to say the logo shows my love for kalira’s. There’s an interesting ritual associated with kalire. The bride shakes her hands over heads of all the unmarried girls in the family one by one and if a leaf or a part of kalira falls on anybody’s head, then it is believed that she will be the next one to get married.
So what happens to these post the wedding? Usually the couple visits the temple/gurudwara the morning after the wedding to take blessing this is where the bride leaves one of her kalira’s and the other is stored with the bride a momento. My mom still has her kalira’s and I plan to use it for my wedding, incorporate it in my phoolon ki chaadar how kool right? Here’s another way of storing them and keeping those wedding memories fresh
Where to buy these? while finding them in Dubai will be a task they are readily available in India. The best ones are offcourse from Amritsar, Gandhi Market in Mumbai is another great place to buy these from or infact buy anything typically Punjabi.
Having difficulties getting hold of some Kalira’s? contact us and we’ll have them shipped to you!
Dulhan Diaries Dubai 