Critical Appreciation 

How are glass bangles made?

Bangles are a very fascinating and colorful ornament of traditional women. A research work involoved interviewing the helper of Mr. Ahemad (shop owner), Mr. Irshad. He was questioned on how these bangles were made. He told us that he has seen these bangles being manufactured in Ferozabad. A number of people work in the bangle industry to help bring out the final product. Firstly, molten glass is transferred on to pipes and is beaten to make equal in dimensions without removing the pipe. In Mr. Irshad's words, "the molten glass comes out like mehendi from mehendi cone." The pipe along with the molten glass is sent to a machine where the glass comes in contact with an automatic roller. There the hot molten glass starts expanding and rolls around it increasing in size. This results in formation of glass spring. Later, the bangles are manually seperated by cutting the glass spring with a blade.

The next step entails another set of people who join the open ends of the bangles. These are later made to look neat and straight by another set of people. This final product is a result of a lot of labor and hard work of bangle makers.

-Ankita

Design Problem And Solution

-Ankita

-Sanya

Bangles : A Hand Ornament

Bangles are a type of hand ornament worn by Indian women, also called kangan or chudi in hindi. They come in various colors and depict the symbol of matrimony. A single bangle which is worn by a man is called a kada usually in the religion of sikhs. Bangles in India are very much popular and with growing fashion trends. Today they have become highly popular with their various designs. With the changing times the bangles are not just made in a circular shape with glass but even are made of various materials and can be found in many shapes such as round, rectangular, oval, etc. Bangles are worn in pairs, one on both arms, bangles are colorful, beautiful, and also enhance the beauty of women who wear them. The materials used to make bangles are gold, silver, wood, ferrous metals, plastic, rubber, glass and many other. Bangles have been a part of the Indian culture for many centuries, but the new trendy bangles are more versatile than even before. But the real deal is the glass bangles which are a pious symbol of matrimony.

-Pragya

Bangles - The Indian marriage ornament

Varied in material and decoration, bangles are among the primary ornaments worn by Indian women and are important indication that the wearer is a married woman. Gold is especially favoured material for bangles but is less common than other materials. Lac bangles have been widely used in India since ancient times. They are worn singly or in sets and made in many colors and with many forms of surface decoration including tiny mirrors and gold leaf. Iron bangles are sometimes encased in gold and those of conch shell are traditionally worn by married women in West Bengal. In Rajasthan ivory bangles are common. In some places they are worn in sets that go from wrist to armpit. Glass bangles are the most common of all. Brides usually wear red bangles, and for everyday use the color is often choosen to match the color of their outfit. Glass bangles are worn by women of all classes of society, rich and poor. They are worn by girls also but for a married woman it is a necessity.

-Pragya

Babu Churi Wala

Located amongst the 22 churi walas was this tiny shop yet the largest in comparison to other shops. The man who owned this shop was Nabhir Ahmed, a soft spoken, 65year old man of great knowledge and experience. Ahmed ji’s shop has been running since the last 4 generations and currently is under the name of his father in law. ‘Babu Churi Wala’ shop is very beautiful and visually appealing and is full of vibrant bangles with a huge variety ranging from glass bangles to plastic ones from metal ones in all colours and sizes with all kinds of designs, sequences and stones for infants, fashion conscious teenagers to newlyweds and elegant ones for the elderly people.

Earlier the market around the hanuman mandir was known to be the largest market reason being the foot fall was very high but in recent times it’s the opposite.

The shop opens every day from 11am to 9pm though earlier the shop used to be running even at 5am as many people would visit the Hanuman mandir for early morning prayers. The shops been in business ever since the mandir was built but back then the shop would only be open on Tuesdays since that day is auspicious for hanuman ji and there would be a ‘Patri Bazaar’ wherein people would sell their stuff either  on carts or by spreading a cloth and displaying their stock (no permanent structures). But ever since the government has taken over this area, they allotted a place for Mabeer ji to set up his shop (permanent structures).

The infrastructure of the shop consists of iron frames which contains of iron rods which are detachable and used to display his bangles. The seating arrangement consists of 2 wooden benches for customers for customers to sit outside the shop and one low rise wooden stool for Mabeer ji to sit on. The shop also consists of a wooden bench inside the shop which acts as a small storage unit. The shop consists of a radio that plays hindi songs all day which transports us into the old era. Also the shop has a balance of bulbs and tube lights that brings the best in the bangles.

One very unique thing I came across was that all the churi walas in that area were related to someone or the other and hence, called themselves a family. There was a lot of proximity and cohesiveness among them all. There were no signs of competition or jealously.  

-Sanya

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-Krisha