The Bridal Trousseau: 'Daaj' Furniture

The primary material used in the construction of the sandook is wood. A local mistri (carpenter) would show a few samples of sandook to the bride’s father to initiate the making /design/construction process. The making of sandook would take many years to complete.

This type of sandook followed a grid construction in its making. Vertical and horizontal members of wood were fixed using mortise and tenon joint to form a basic structure of its facade.

These grids were fixed with wooden panels, using tongue and groove joints. The panels were either finished using plain lacquer or decorated with motifs.

This sandook was built with a side almirah. It was brought by Surinder Kaur in her bridal trousseau. It was made of well seasoned Taali wood (seasoned wood is lighter in weight than non-seasoned wood). Around 5-6 people are needed to lift an empty sandook.

The size and ornamentation usually depicted the status of the family. During the field interaction, a person shared “If a sandook was huge with elaborate ornamentation, it indicated the daughter belonged to a socially rich family”.

Where people had moved into new houses, sandook were kept in the living room. This was one such example. It was repainted and the side wooden vertical surfaces were replaced by plywood and finished using laminate sheet.

This manja (charpoy) was approximately 75 years old. It belonged to Baawi Devi and was brought to this house as a part of her daaj from Gotan village, Gurudaspur district. It was made out of taali (North Indian Rosewood).The nawaar (webbing) was of saan (jute).

The lady of the house, shared that this manja was brought from Pakistan as part of her daaj. This manja had turned wood legs with a spherical section at the centre, which was a unique feature of manja brought from the region of Pakistan.

This palang belonged to the mother of Indian freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh. It was given in daaj by her father. The mistri (carpenter) had made palang with slender legs. The headboard had a mirror and ceramic tiles encased in it.

While making furniture, the mistri (carpenter) sometimes carves or writes his name on the furniture. This palang had the name of the mistri (carpenter) 'Mistri Bhagram Garh Shankar' carved on the headboard.

In villages, women in the households used to spin the charkha and sing folklores. There are a number of songs based on charkha which are a part of the oral traditions of the state.

This charkha was part of the bridal possession of Swaran Kaur who got married around 35 years ago. It was made of saagwan wood and was used by the women of the house until a few years ago.

A bride-to-be makes pakkhi using colourful threads to make it ornamental. These pakkhi in odd numbers of five, seven or eleven become a part of her bridal possession which she carries to her husband’s house.

These pakkhi were gifted to Paramjeet Kaur as part of her daaj. Her mother had made these for her using colour beads and laces. She has carefully preserved the pakkhi to gift them to her daughters in their bridal possession.

During our field interaction, a lady shared that the colours used in innu were based on her state of mind and the emotions that she experiences during the courtship period.

Though the tradition of bridal possession continues till today, the furniture items have considerably changed. Very few people make a sandook these days and most of the examples recorded are a way to preserve the memory of their previous generations.