Happy Friday! Today I’d like to share with you lots of colorful bangle pics to brighten your day.

Dreaming of colorful bangles

During my recent visit to Delhi I went bangle shopping to find bangles in colors that would match Indian outfits I had bought. Truly I’ve only dreamt of a shopping experience like this. Until this visit I settled for any bangles I could get back home in California. To get bangles in colors that match my outfits? Wow, wow!

Bangles oh bangles

In India these circles of color are music to a woman’s wrist. Bangles are such a huge part of the Indian culture that poems and odes have been written in praise of this humble bracelet.

Bangles
A poem by Sarojini Naidu

Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair…
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.

Some are meant for a maiden’s wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,

Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
Meant for a bride on her bridal morning,

Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.

Some are purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life’s midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons and daughters on her faithful breast.
And lives her life in fruitful pride.

An integral part of an Indian woman’s trousseau

Bangles are such an integral part of any Indian outfit that women go to great lengths to match their bangles to the outfits they wear.

Bangles come in a million colors and combinations. Made of glass, metal, plastic, gold, silver, and clay; they can be found in every design imaginable.

Shopping for bangles at Sarojini Nagar

I am so excited to share with you photos of bangle shopping at a street market called Sarojini Nagar in Delhi. In this market this street vendor was selling a mountain of pre-packaged bangles in the most popular colors – red, green, blue, teal, and yellow. Already packaged and ready to go, fixed price, no negotiating. This was a place where you just picked up a readymade set and went on your way.

Rahul the Bangle Wala – Translation – Rahul the Bangle Seller

This little bangle shop was a brick and mortal establishment at Sarojini Nagar. The store was called Rahul the Bangle Wala. Here one could get any custom bangle set they wanted in any color combination they wanted.

Bangles in every color imaginable

Bangles in every color, size, and design were being sold at Rahul’s shop. Pastels, ruby, reds, gold, silver, purple flecked with gold, grey flecked with silver, you name a color, this shop had it.

Here one could take any outfit and they would create a bangle set that matched it perfectly.

Rahul the bangle artist

Rahul was so good at creating bangle sets to match our outfits that we called him “Rahul the bangle artist.”

The perfectly matched bangles

These pictures show a scarf from an Indian dress we purchased and how Rahul created this gorgeous bangle set that matched. He picked up the most subtle colors on the scarf.

Like an artist he created the bangle pattern with such pride. It was fascinating to watch him place this bangle in here and that one in there, adding a silver sparkler in the middle, adding gold danglers at the edges, that even the guys in our group came to watch – haha.

The magic black bag with an endless bounty of bangles

Rahul made his bangle sets with so many colors and in so many sizes that we wondered where did he store all these bangles? Well we found out exactly how he creates these wonders – the magic black bag!

The bangles in these photos were just a fraction of the thousands of colors Rahul had in a secret storage compartment above the store in the ceiling.

When he wanted a particular color in a particular size he would shout out to an invisible voice above. And magically from above plopped a black bag with the bangles he requested. It was comical and priceless!

More bangles to entice

I hope you enjoyed this fun look at bangle shopping in Delhi, India.

Wishing you a colorful weekend ahead!