BHUBANESWAR: With the onset of wedding season, we are getting to see multiple celebrity marriages along with numerous other weddings all around us. A trend that has caught the fancy of many in this season is the donning of Indian Gajra. Although flower gajras are nothing new, they are being slowly replaced by artificial gajras due to dearth of flowers.
Artificial gajras offer the same fragrance that is offered by any real one. Artificial flowers are gaining popularity over real ones due to their omnipresence in the market, low pricing and significant variations. Many online websites offer a free sample on orders above one gajra at a time.
According to Puranas, Narad Muni, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, dons a marigold gajra all the time. Sage Parashar had once blessed him stating, “Gajra is very pious and whoever wears it would be blessed by Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi. This mythological story is the reason behind the popularity of gajra in occasions like marriage.
According to Vedas, “In India, a girl who is going to be a bride must wear flowers on her hair as it welcomes cheerfulness to the groom’s family and prosperity to all the members. Fresh flowers have a special connection with Goddess Laxmi as its pious scent keeps her happy, prolonging her stay at the residence.”
Orissa Post interacted with a few gajra makers, beauty experts and would-be-brides to delve deeper into the subject. “Crafting hairstyles with fake flowers is quite easy as it doesn’t get crumpled or wasted when more than one person touches it to decorate a bride,” said Nirali Sengupta, a would-be-bride.
A beautician Samira Kundu said, “I often dread the idea of using fresh flowers because they get loose or might fall off the tresses. This may create a messy situation for the bride. Therefore, I have been supplying artificial gajra to my clients. These are eco-friendly, have zero maintenance issues and do not dry out in just a few hours. One can engage in any activity for the whole day without worrying about their gajra.”
Gajra-maker S Raja, an expert in special wedding hairdos, said, “We receive orders to make special gajras using Roses, Chameli, Mogra and even Hibiscus for hindu brides and their bridesmaids.”
There are quite a few modern day variations of these traditional garlands. Due to dearth of flowers artificial gajras are much in vogue these days. One can find these easily in various online shopping sites. However, even small flower kiosks are engaged in making brilliant artificial gajras, which are being sold at a higher rate. Various colors of Gajras are being sold to match bride’s lehenga.
Be it real or artificial, a bride’s attire seems to be incomplete without a gajra in her tresses. We usually witness a heavy hair-do of brides in any marriage party that we visit. After all, such dress up is a major part of Solah singar in our culture. The tradition of donning gajras remains whereas the usage of natural flowers in these decorative garlands decline.
