A Parandi is attached to the hair while braiding. First the natural hair is either braided till the desired position/ made in a pigtail when the three sections of the Parandi are merged with the natural hair. With Parandi mixed with natural hair, braiding is continued until the end of the hair. At the end of the braid a rubber band is tied up to prevent the braid from opening.
“While some elaborate designs were discontinued and material replaced with inexpensive synthetic replacements, certain basic elements remain unchanged”.
Making a Parandi, does not require heavy tools or machinery. All it need is a pair of scissors, comb, a small pillar like object called “thullu” with lots of creativity and patience.
“Thullu” a wooden /iron pillar with a hook attached on the top is used to hold the threads of Parandi, while it is made. Sometimes the craftsmen use their toe to hold the threads.
The Parandi is divided into two parts. The upper part and the lower part.
The Upper Part:
First big bunch of woolen threads are cleaned and sorted into 3 strands. These three strands of threads are combed thoroughly to remove any knots and then tied together with a knot to form the upper part of the Parandi. The upper part of the Parandi is available in black, golden and red color where black being the most commonly used. The brides and the married women generally wear red and golden Parandis. But with everything being customized, Parandi too is finding its way in all possible colors.
The Lower part/Flower:
The lower part of the Parandi also known as the flower is meant for decorative purpose. This decorative flower or tassel is woven, knit and stitched in various forms, sizes and colors.
After the knot (the one that holds the three strands) is done the craftsmen ties up all the other three ends of the Parandi separately. Then at the end of each strand, a colored silk thread is tied up holding from the center with a golden thread. The colored threads are again tied up using golden thread to give it a fine gracious look. This pattern is repeated in different ways to create different design.
Thus, the process is repeated with the other two strands. This type of Parandi is the most basic type and is known as a “fixed Parandi”.
A fixed Parandi has the decorative part attached to it, which makes it little difficult to wash the Parandi without spoiling the decorative part. Nowadays fixed Parandi is being replaced by “detachable Parandi” where the upper part is separated from the lower part.
One end of the upper part of detachable Parandi has the knot (which holds the three strands together) while the other end is formed into tiny balls known as “dodi”. There are 6 dodi in all, 2 on each end of a strand. These dodi’s holds the tassel.
“The tassel or the lower part is made up of three parts, Angoori, which is a loop for attaching with the upper part of the Parandi i.e. “dodi”, the Surahi, which is a conical structure that holds the elements together and the Flower, which makes the final, open ends of the Parandi”.
This type of Parandi is very easy to maintain. As the tassel can be easily separated from the upper part, it becomes very easy to open the Parandi. It also aids in washing the Parandi very comfortably without spoiling the tassel. And with wide range of tassels, women keep changing the tassels matching them according to their clothes.
