Hyderabad, Sindh
Hyderabad 71000, Pakistan
About
Bangles have played a part in every girl's and woman's life in Pakistan since before written history. They were linked with virginity, marriage, taboos and reflected social rank. Today they can be enjoyed by all. During most of its history, jewellery has been decorative and ornamental. If bangles once were a sign of slavery, it is certainly no longer true. We are able to trace the history of jewellery because of a custom that started in the most remote civilizations, of burying the dead in their richest garments and ornaments. Through recent archaeological surveys and our constantly increasing knowledge of early life-styles, it seems probable that man thought of decorating his body before he thought of decorating his body before he thought of making use of anything that could suggest clothing. Most early civilizations settled along the banks of large rivers, which made possible the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. Indirectly this also led to the discovery of alluvial deposits of minerals, first among which were gold and precious stones. A high degree of development was attained in the art of jewellery making in two of the most magnificent of early civilizations in the Indus; Harappa and Moenjodaro. Here the lavish use of jewellery as a work of art may have been made possible because of the ancient practice of pearl diving and because of the variety of deposits of precious and semi-precious stones in the Indus Delta and in the neighbouring countries. The inhabitants of the Indus valley were thus the first known to decorate themselves with huge quantities of jewels - so many that they were almost fully clothed without wearing any real fully clothed without wearing any real garments. The statuette of the dancing girl of Moenjodaro, almost 5,000 years old, gives evidence of the ample use of bangle. A wonderful example of an old tradition which has continued to this day. Modern Hyderabad in Sind Province which is about 120 km, from Karachi, has since become the centre of bangle manufacture in Pakistan. It is the main centre where this ornament made of glass is produced today before being sent to every corner of the country
