A part of the Diwali festival’s tradition is the decoration of homes with ornaments and embellishments with religious significance. This is practiced during the festival with the purpose of pleasing the goddess Lakshmi hoping that she will enter the home and bring with her wealth and prosperity. Thus decorating the front of the home is doubly important as the entrance is the one that is always seen first. Decorating the front of a place is called “dwaar”. The door hangings placed as decorations are thus called bandanwaar or torans.

 

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Traditions of Diwali Torans

Bandanwaars or torans adorn the front door of a place. They are the first thing that the visitors see as they come in. They add to the welcoming atmosphere of a place, making it more colorful and inviting. Not only are the bandanwaars used to attract the attention of visitors, these are also a part of the tradition of inviting the goddess Lakshmi into one’s home. Bandanwaars can be made by hand at home or if preferred, due to insufficiency of time or lack of idea of how to make one, they can be bought readymade in the market. Demand for ready-made bandawaars is supplied by the availability of various bandanwaar designs, of which the buyer can choose from.

Bandanwaar or Diwali Toran Designs

• Floral Bandanwaars or Floral Diwali Torans

These bandanwaars are made of a variety of bright flowers. They can either be artificial, which can last longer and can be reused, or fresh, all-natural, but lasts only for a few days.

• Mirror Work Bandanwaars

These are made of cloth with colorful mirror pieces attached to it. The mirrors can be a variety of different sizes and shapes. These are then hung on the doors. These bandanwaars are a part of the Rajasthani culture.

• Embroidered Bandanwaars or Embroidered Diwali Torans

Embroidered ones are made on small cloth pieces. Various shapes and design are embroidered on the cloth using a variety of embroidery thread color. Elephants, camels, kalash, flowers and the like are just some of the design that can be embroidered.

• Dori Bandanwaars / Dori Diwali Torans

Different varieties of threads are used for this kind of bandanwaar. The threads are woven together to form the base of the bandanwaar. When finished, the woven threads can be decorated with colorful trimmings to make it more creative and eye-catching.

Whether the bandanwaars are handmade or store-bought does not matter, what is important is to remember the intention behind this wonderful Diwali tradition, that is to honor and worship the goddess Lakshmi.