AUTUMN
BRIDE
-
Kuli Kohli (India)
A blackbird relishes a bunch of rowan
berries,
they remind me of Indian sun-dried
chillies.
The holly berries like bindiya1 on an Indian bride,
sunshine leaves make designs like mehndi2 on her hands.
The fiery hawthorn berries like jewels
she wears;
her choora3 on her arms made of
spangled bangles.
She is draped in a silk lehnga4 of cerise dogwood leaves;
acorn-gold sequins gleam upon her chunni5.
Rosehips like sindoor6 in
the parting of her berried hair,
sacrifices
spill like blood; she gestures like a goddess of love.
1.
Bindiya a small dot that
married Hindu women wear on their forehead as an embellishment and a sign of
auspiciousness.
2.
Mehndi is the artistic
temporary henna tattoos, especially as part of a bride or groom's preparations
for a wedding.
3.
Choora is very auspicious
for the bride and the groom. These bangles are believed to bring luck and
prosperity to the couple. The red colour signifies passion, love and
strengthens the bond between the newlyweds. It also symbolises prosperity and
fertility.
4.
Lehnga is an Indian wedding
dress.
5.
Chunni a special scarf
that’s placed on the bride’s head and her face is covered like a veil.
6.
Sindoor is a
traditional vermilion red or
orange-red coloured cosmetic powder worn by married Hindu women along the part of
their hairline.
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