Mauri Gali, Patna

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Mauri, a wedding accessory

India Today

January 5, 2009

Amitabh Srivastava

Marriages may be made in heaven, but are rarely solemnised in this part of the world without the bridegroom wearing a traditional hand-embroidered headgear—called a Mauri. Surprisingly, just about anyone with a wedding happening in the family walks down to one narrow lane in Patna with more than a hundred shops dealing exclusively in the headgear. In fact, Mauri and the lives of the people trading in it are so inextricably intermingled that the locality is identified with the headgear’s name: it’s called Mauri Gali. The foot-high Mauri, woven around bamboo sticks, is a dazzling accessory that a Hindu bridegroom adorns for specific wedding rituals.

For the rest of the ceremony, bridegrooms usually switch to more convenient Rajasthani headgear. Despite less than an hour of use and near zero utility afterwards, the Mauri remains indispensable. “In fact, more and more people are joining the trade, forcing us to cut prices,” says craftsman Awadhesh Kumar Chandrawanshi. In fact, Mauri and the lives of the people trading in it are so inextricably intermingled that the locality is identified with the headgear’s name: it’s called Mauri Gali. The foot-high Mauri, woven around bamboo sticks, is a dazzling accessory that a Hindu bridegroom adorns for specific wedding rituals. For the rest of the ceremony, bridegrooms usually switch to more convenient Rajasthani headgear. Despite less than an hour of use and near zero utility afterwards, the Mauri remains indispensable. “In fact, more and more people are joining the trade, forcing us to cut prices,” says craftsman Awadhesh Kumar Chandrawanshi.