Choosing wedding garlands
Flowers, length and timing for varmala that look right in photos and last through the day.
Mogra season in Pune
When jasmine is at its best, and how to keep a gajra fresh until evening.
Mogra season in Pune runs from March to June, when the plants around Purandar and Saswad flower heavily and the market fills with white buds at dawn. Outside these months we still string mogra, but the buds are smaller and dearer.
The buds are picked in the early morning while still closed, and they open in the evening. That is why a gajra bought at noon smells of almost nothing, and fills the room by seven.
To keep a gajra fresh until you wear it, wrap it loosely in a damp cotton cloth and keep it in the fridge, away from the freezer. Take it out an hour before you need it so the buds can open.
To pin a veni, start at the top of a plait or bun and work down, using U-pins every few inches. A double string is heavier and needs more pins.
After the evening, do not throw the flowers away. Dried mogra keeps its scent for days in a wardrobe or a bowl by the door.
