The bangles worn by women in Tharparkar, Acchro and Rohi serve as a form of identification, helping identify if they are married or single and which community they hail from.
This is true of women of both the Hindu and Muslim communities, who wear bangles of different colors on their wrists and their arms.
These specific bangles are considered part of the ancient culture of the wide desert.
It is said that the Moen-Jo-Daro’s dancing girl also wore the same kind of bangles.
But the bangles also go well beyond being ornaments. A married woman wears bangles and nose-pin, but removes them when her spouse dies.
On the other hand, unmarried women do not wear bangles.
A thriving bangle industry has grown up around Tharparkar, where women who are about to marry purchase bangles.
Apart from weddings, bangles are bought ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali and other joyous occasions.
Communities are also identified by the color of the bangles worn by women.
The Hindu Bheel community, for example, wears white bangles.
At one time, these bangles were made from ivory. But now they are made from plastic.
In the small and big cities of Tharparkar, these bangle makers have many shops, people buy bangles on