Braiding the hair for Bharatanatyam dance.

[sradh]

Hello all,

Could any one please tell me how to braid the hair using a plastic ring that goes under the rakodi. I don't understand how the U-pins or hairpins can pass through the plastic ring. Should I be using a black thread, then where do I tie it and how?

Please help.

[natyasri]

depends on how long your hair is. my hair is shoulder length. and i have 2 small kids and no real help, but for my husband. so what i do is this-
i have the donut that goes on the head made with soft material, covered with hair and then a gold ribbon rolled on it. i have the Racoti pinned to it. so i just put it where it needs to. then i pony my hair. or braid it. now i have the false hair, two of them braided together. this gives a very thick braid. else you can make it broad with your braiding style. now i just tie it on the top of my pony/braided hair and then roll the black thread over. also i finish with the either the golden ribbon over it or you have those round ornaments for the hair, i pin them on. in short, you know the flower braid we get for marriages, thats what i do, only its the hair not flower braid here. I had my mother in law sent me on such ready made one. it was a broad braid and was covered with the net cloth on the showing part and black cloth beneath, and with thread ready to be tied just like the flower braid we get. but the length was not enough for me, so i made my own. whatever, the flowers come last, in the very end, after the head jewelery so you can do the cover up.

reg plastic ring, iam not sure i understand you.

hope iam clear enough. there is another way, if you hair is longer/thicker or for any reason you are not able to do the above then you need to part it in two half. upper and lower. tie the upper one with a rubberband where you place your donut. now pull it thru the donut and let it go around it and tie it behind the donut. you might need someone's help in this one. then place the Racoti and tie it. the lower hair, tie a pony then tie the false hair to it,at the beginning, with the black thread. then braid together. for sure, it might feel heavy, but wont fall. the problem is if we have a step cut or something like that, an uneven hair cut, then the ends will start popping you, thats why to save time and tension, i use the above method. here once you finish braiding u can use black thread to keep the ends in place and the gold ribbon on top of it. but iam not sure you can use the hair jewelery - the round individual pieces, here. i did not- the last time i did this method. for me minimum is better. just whats required. no " aarbhatam" or extras.

i hope this was easy to understand and is useful to you. in either case, on one can make out unless they have a closer look. i really like method one, cause hair is one thing that take a lot of time and i get so tensed and nervous. with method one, every thing is ready, only you need to pin them and cover them and can do it all by ur self. and since you are using false braids right from the beginning it feels as if your own hair and that it is so long and uniform. a neat job is all it takes. best of luck

[sradh]

Thank you Natyasri for taking the time to explain both the ways of braiding the hair. It is of great help to me.

sradh