The Big Fat Indian Wedding
India as a culture has always celebrated life in absolute exuberance since time immemorial. In an inspiration from this sense of celebration that we Indians never leave any stone unturned. Every little opportunity is used to express our creativity. And one of the most beautiful and elegant expressions of feminine creativity is seen as a traditional bridal hair decoration called POOLA JADA (Plait decorated with flowers).
It is a tradition in India, especially South India, that every bride decorates her long plait with beautiful patterns of flowers, jewellery, beads etc. that adds to the stunning look on her big day.
Every girl aspires to look in her best on one of the most important days in her life, and poola jada is one more aesthetically beautiful hair accessory that adds a spark to her looks. It enhances the feminine nature within the bride.
What is Poola Jada?
A typical poola jada starts right from the top with complex patterns and arrangements of flowers and ends with a ball shaped or hair type of decorative’s at the bottom usually known as JADA KUCCHULU or JADA GANTALU which gives a finishing touch to it.
Traditionally only fresh flowers were used to make a poola jada, but these days a wide variety of materials are also used in its making. Certain Jewelleries are specifically designed for poola jada. They come in various designs. They are also made in pure gold or studded with precious and semi-precious stones, pearls, kundans and much more. Artificial flowers too are being used in the making of a poola jada.
Popular Flowers used in Poola Jada
Undoubtedly white Arabian Jasmine(Boddu Malle) is the most common and preferred flower used in the making of a poola jada. Roses also make a beautiful combo. Chrysanthemum(chamanthi), Golden chempa (sampangi) and Rajanigandha (tuberose) are also quiet popular choices for poola jada.
Other materials like artificial pearls, semi-precious stones, kundans, etc are used as embellishments. These add ons make the poola jada look even more eye-catchy and attractive. These are also embedded in beautiful jewellery.
What does a Poola Jada Cost?
The cost of a poola jada simply depends on your choices and preferences. A simple all-floral poola jada may cost about 500-1500, while a decent looking poola jada with a combination of flowers and embellishments may cost around 2500-3000. The price goes on increasing with costlier materials being used and it may also reach upto a few lakh sometimes.
A poola jada is something every girl cherishes to have on important occasions. It is not confined to brides alone. It is also worn by girls and women of all ages for important occasions and celebrations. It looks especially cute when small girls flaunt their poola jada.
A poola jada is worn by almost every near and dear ones with wide range and varieties of poola jadas particularly on occasions like wedding ceremonies.
The basic structure of every poola jada has a head, trunk and tail. The head or apex is usually decorated in concentric fashion/ arches of flowers with a prominent centre occupied by either attractive bunch of flowers or Designer Jewellery set.
The trunk portion starts just below the head part and ends before the tail. This is the longest portion with wide scope of creativity. Usually hair is tied in traditional Indian style and extensively covered with embellishments. This is the area that demands maximum creativity and material input. The trunk part can be either decorated with simple flower garland just wrapped around it or with layers of flowers, jewellery or stones. Usually almost every south Indian girl had very long hair in the past, but now due to many external and internal reasons, the average hair length has come down considerably, hence an additional hair extension call poola kucchulu is used to enhance the length and girth of trunk portion making it more attractive.
The tail is the end portion of a poola jada. The tail usually is made of either poola kucchulu or poola gantalu (balls). This is either left as it is or decorated with embellishments or flowers.
Let’s see a video on the making of poola jada
Few Hair Styles of Poola Jada
Let us now have a look at a few styles of Poola Jada:-
Knitted Poola Jada
This bridal poola jada is a combination of fresh flowers, artificial flowers and a little bit of gold jewellery. The head portion is made of layers of bunch of fresh flowers like jasmine and roses. The central region of head is enhanced by the placement of a gold jewellery. The trunk here is beautifully covered by artificial jasmine flowers. The flowers in here are stunningly knitted keeping sufficient gaps yet covering the whole trunk. As you can see the tail is left loose using the hair extension jada kucchulu. Isn’t it gorgeous!
Jasmine Poola Jada
This beautiful piece is a combination of fresh flowers and light jewellery. The head part is made of circular layers of fresh flowers like jasmine, roses and golden chempa in the centre. The usage of golden chempa (sampangi) is what sets this poola jada apart. The jasmine flowers have a very strong and long lasting fragrant that can intoxicate you. Along with the flowers a small round lustrous blue jewellery is used in the centre. Similar but smaller pieces are also used in the trunk region.
Jasmine and Rose Petals Jada
This gorgeous looking poola jada set is made of fresh jasmine and rose petals in symmetric design, alternating with little pieces of jewellery. The head portion is especially beautiful with rose base and layers of jasmine flowers in concentric circles. The central large portion and side portions are beautifully finished with an elegant piece of jewellery made of silver and red stones. The trunk is also filled completely with layers of jasmine and rose petals alternating with jewellery. The tail is made of jada kucchulu.
Rajanigandha Poola Jada
This awesome looking piece is entirely made up of Rajanigandhra flowers and cute mango shaped embellishments. Head and tail is completely covered with Rajanigandha flowers forming the base and symmetrically placed embellishments made of red stones and artificial pearls. The tail is left with jada kucchulu.
Artificial Poola Jada
This poola jada is entirely made from artificial flowers and jewellery. The head has a beautifully designed arch of artificial white, pink and brown flowers. The central flower also has white and pink flowers arranged in circle with a central indigo coloured stone. The trunk is also entirely made of flowers similar to central part of head. Though entirely artificial, this poola jada looks really beautiful.
Red Colour Artificial Poola Jada
This is similar to the previous one. Here red flowers are dominant with circular designs and centrally placed stone jewelry. The head region has a single layer of flowers in the outline with alternate white and brown flowers. This ready-made artificial poola jada is cost efficient and durable.
Floral Arch with Artificial Flowers and Embellishments
This fancy poola jada is also made of artificial flowers and stones. The light brown floral arrangement is very unique with a contrasting prominent pink stone in the centre of each flower. The single arch for head is very simple and elegant.
Poola Jada with Pearls
A very unique poola jada entirely made of white stones and artificial pearls with cute balls hanging as tail. The head of this poola jada is prominent with pearls outside and white stone inside in concentric circles. Gives a royal look to the bride on her big day.
Gold, Red, Pink are the Colours for Jada
It’s an artificial poola jada with red, pink and brown flowers on the head. The central piece is made of golden balls with a pink stone in its centre. Similar smaller pieces are repeated in the trunk with more prominent stone work. The tail here is also very eye-catchy.
Tamil Style Poola Jada
This is also a traditional poola jada mostly worn by Tamilians brides in South India. The head has a designer piece beautifully studded with lustrous white stones. The ‘v’ shaped jewellery runs down through the entire length of the trunk. It is entirely made of beautiful white stones. a very simple yet very royal look of this poola jada is what sets it apart from every other type. The head region can be left the way it is or even surrounded by combinations of artificial and/fresh flowers.
Embellished Poola Jada
An artificial poola jada with a beautiful combination of pink and golden flowers in the head, interestingly which is also the combination of the jewellery used in here. The border of golden balls with a big central pink stone looks stunning and decent at the same time.
Bunch of Jasmines with jada billalu
This is a very simple look and interestingly the most common type of decoration usually seen. A hair extension is used. The head here is interestingly not circular but a bunch of fresh jasmine flowers is used to cover up the whole region. The trunk is also interestingly mostly visible with distantly placed embellishments. The tail is also left free. This type of poola jada is commonly worn by the near and dear of the bride. Most Brides don’t really prefer such a simple poola jada.
Floral Arch with Bangles
A very unique poola jada here! A big circular disc of jewellery studded with varieties of stones in head. The real difference is seen in the trunk. Trunk has additional bangle like embellishments along the length as shown above. A creative poola jada that provides just the right amount of covering and space at the same time for billalu.
Stylish Poola Jada
Yet another unique poola jada to try. As you can see above the head is fully covered by layers of different types of fresh flowers. The trunk is the USP of this poola jada. Though the designer jewellery is a common factor here, the floral hanging is what sets it apart. A small garland of flowers are tied and inserted in the back and the remaining part is let loose to fall downwards in the front. A creative idea here!
Coloured Flower Archs
Finally This poola jada is very simple yet very elegant. Not too much of work is done here but still is royal enough to divert the attention of most. The core idea here is to use stunning pieces of jewellery with high quality stones in ethnic designs. These pieces run down from head to tail. A simple arch of flowers like rose petal, sampangi, jasmine buds or rajanigandha can be used to enhance the look. These poola jada sets are usually on the costlier side.
There are many more designs available in the market in various costs, many stores and designers offer customization options too, if you are not happy with the available ones. With India being the youngest nation in the world, there is always a demand for these poola jadas. Hope your queries have been answered.
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