Glass Bangles

Glass Bangles (or as called Churiya in Urdu) or jewels on the wrist


Oh! What a beautiful adornment!

Bangles are a part of Pakistani women lives because they allow people to express their personality, individuality, and creativity. For centuries, women throughout Pakistan have been wearing bangles as decorative ornaments. Consequently, bangles have come to hold great cultural and historical significance. In Pakistan, many traditional ceremonies connect with bangles like woman wear symbolize their happy marriage and are called suhagan then there are bangles for brides which are presented by bride groom side and they are beautifully crafted in red color with golden pattern. Red bangles wear by the bride at the time of the wedding is considered auspicious also on the wedding of a girl her sisters distribute set of green or yellow bangles to all the ladies guest on her Mehndi, her last day at parents house where many guest were invited for dinner and then they put henna on her hand and offer her sweet candies .a lot of fun and singing and dancing take place.

Glass bangles make a sound like chuunn with each movement of the wearer wrist. Glass bangles have bewildered women from ages with their shimmering sparkles, tinkling sound, innovative patterns and magnificent colors. In olden days they were part of nobility but now these ornaments have become very popular with women of all ages. The romance connected with chooree kee chankaar (sound of the bangle) has not only been an integral part of eastern heritage but is now a part of all festive occasions in eastern culture. Evidence of Indus Civilization portrays bangles adoring the wrists of prehistoric women. Bangles have been found in many archaeological sites in Pakistan, with the oldest examples dating back to 2,000 B.C. or earlier. Those early bangles were usually made from copper, bronze, agate, or shell.

Now let me take you to our artisans’ world and see how these bangles are made although these days a variety of materials are used, in different designs, shape and color. They can be plastic, glass, silver with stones and wooden bangles. In semi-precious or precious metal form, bangles are often metal, silver and even gold. The most durable of bangles are gold. Glass bangles are the least durable, and may break with careless handing. Because of this, many women prefer gold bangles for everyday wear, and reserve glass bangles for special occasions.

As bangles are very fascinating with the intricate and colorful design, but do you know how these bangles are made?? Here we shall discuss the interesting yet complex process of making glass bangles with Salima (artisan). As she mentions that the process of Making Glass Bangles is a very tremendous work as raw glass for bangles is of the same material as prepared for other glassware, which is taken out of the furnace through the pipes. Without removing the pipes, the molten glass is beaten to make its dimensions equal. After this, the glass with the pipe is placed in another furnace which has an automated roller. When this molten glass comes in contact with the roller, it starts stretching like a thread and rolls around it. In this process a spring of glass is formed. To make separate bangles, this spring is then cut with the help of a cutter of diamond. But, at this stage, these bangles have two ends, which need to be joined. Usually, this job is taken up by separate units. The open ended bangles are given to the team of workers for the joining process. Traditionally, this process of joining of bangles is termed as 'Judai'. Workers doing joining or Judai use simple chimney of kerosene connected with the air input, generated by simple air compressor, locally known as 'Pankha'. In one unit, as many as 15 to 20 chimneys are connected with one air compressor. The joined bangles pass through another process popularly known as 'Sadhai'. In this process, joints of bangles are made to look neat and straight. Here, the glass is made to melt. The application of little pressure joins both the ends. The job of sadhai is usually accomplished by women workers. It may be noted that a large number of people are engaged with the work of Judai and Sadhai of bangles to earn their livelihood. This elegant beauty in a range of colors, styles come with different decorations. Then each bangle is hand decorated with different pattern and special glitter and paints are used. So in short once the bangles, in various shapes and sizes, have been crafted by the men, they are embellished with shiny artificial stones, beads, and glass fragments in colorful patterns by the women.
Glass bangles are unique & beautiful also they are easy in maintenance, and every woman can afford them and can create personal style statement. In Pakistan the city of Hyderabad is very famous for bangle making a whole industry flourishes there and provide living hood to many artisans.