Bangles

Bangles are traditionally rigid bracelets which are usually made of metal, wood, glass or plastic. These ornaments are worn mostly by women in the Indian subcontinent, Southeastern Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. It is common to see a bride wearing glass bangles at weddings in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and in other Asian countries. Bangles may also be worn by young girls, and bangles made of gold or silver are preferred for toddlers. Some men and women wear a single bangle on the arm or wrist called kada or kara.

Chooda is a kind of bangle that is worn by Hindu/Sikh Punjabi women on their wedding day. It is a set of white and red bangles with stonework.
According to tradition, a woman is not supposed to buy the bangles she will wear.
Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh is India's largest producer of bangles.

Bangles made of glass stacked for sale in Jodhpur, India
Bangles are circular in shape, and, unlike other bracelets, are not flexible. The word is derived from Hindi bungri (glass). They are made of numerous precious as well as non-precious materials such as gold, silver, platinum, glass, wood, ferrous metals, plastic, etc. Bangles made from sea shell, which are white colour, are worn by married Bengali and Oriya Hindu women. A special type of bangle is worn by women and girls, especially in the Bengal area, commonly known as a "Bengali bangle", which is used as a substitute for a costly gold bangle, and is produced by thermo-mechanically fusing a thin gold strip onto a bronze bangle, followed by manual crafting on that fused gold strip.

Bangles are part of traditional Indian subcontinent jewellery. They are sometimes worn in pairs by women, one or more on each arm. It is also common for women to wear a single bangle or several bangles on just one wrist. Most Indian women prefer wearing either gold or glass bangles or a combination of both. Inexpensive bangles made from plastic are slowly replacing those made by glass, but the ones made of glass are still preferred at traditional occasions such as marriages and on festivals. Bangles are the signs for traditional women and girls. Bangles play a very important role in various Indian dance forms. Some of dance forms include bangles striking each other to produce a tone.

 The designs range from simple to intricate handmade designs, often studded with precious and semi-precious stones such as diamonds, gems and pearls. Sets of expensive bangles made of gold and silver make a jingling sound. The imitation jewellery tends to make a tinny sound when jingled.