বাংলায় পড়ুন
Bengali's are known for their rich art-culture and literature. A Bengali wedding is a huge amalgamation of food, tradition, people and bulk of memories for the family album. Bengalis leave no stone unturned to make the day memorable for both the bride and the groom. We believe in Punjabi's fat weddings; Gujaratis colourful marriages; however the style of Bengali's sacred and artistic weddings raises a lot of curiosity. Everyone seems to take a keen interest to the traditional form of any Bengali wedding. With the passage of time, the tradition and grace has remained unaltered and no matter how forward thinking and modern a Bengali may be, he/she still abides by the traditional community customs.
Most Bengali’s are non-compromising when it comes to traditional attire for marriages. The bride dons a Benarasi silk saree which draped in a typical Bengali style with mukut (crown) while the groom, a silk Dhoti and a Punjabi along with topor (traditional head gear with pom poms on either side) are the basic embellishments for any Bengali marriage. This attire carries an individualistic charm and charisma which holds centuries old exquisiteness. We know about the saree, mukut and other essentialists but what about the Topor? If you search in dictionary all you will get is - It is a headgear which is white in colour and is made from Sholapith (cork tree).
Topors are crafted by artisans who are called Malakars. Well, one may ask why only Malakars are qualified to make these head gears? The Topor has an interesting story. It is to be believed that lord Shiva wanted a special headgear for his wedding ceremony. He assigned Lord Vishvakarma with the responsibility to craft the headgear. As,Vishvakarma was used to working with hard materials, he could not complete the task using soft wood. The Lord summoned a young handsome man named Malakar to make the gear using Sholapith. Since, then Topor is believed to be a significant part of Bengali marriages and only Malakars are allowed to craft them.
Some Beliefs:
Topors are known to bring Good Luck.
The Groom-to-be must receive the Head-gear from the bride's side, especially from the father-in-law.
If the Shola breaks, it must be disposed in water (in pond), so that no one can destroy it.
It is Considered Bad Luck for the couple if the Topor catches Fire accidentally or someone loses it.
