Floral decorations can be done in innumerable ways and along with rangoli form an art form that is creative in nature. Alankaram as we say in Tamil is an important art. Traditionally decoration of the braid with flowers and hence floral decorations have been given importance particularly for weddings. Poo jadai as it called is a simple yet beautiful floral decoration. Add to it the fragrance of the flowers. These floral decorations are not only important in traditional functions but also for some festivals like Varalakshmi Puja.
The following images show how a simple poo jadi is made. Usually we use three flowers of different colours choosing at least two fragrant varieties. As shown in the first image, jasmine flowers are Not tied following the traditional method of stringing ( There are videos in my YouTube Channel showing how to string the jasmine and rose and other floral decorations ). They are tied on one side only so that all the stalks are on one side . The method followed for stringing the flowers is the same as that we follow for tying flowers on both sides of a string, only in this case all flowers will be one one side. For the method please go to - How to string roses The strung flowers are cut into three equal parts, in the image I have shown. The number depends upon the length of the "jadai" The ends are tied so that they form circles.
Similarly another flower like kanakambaram (it has bright orange colour and so it is chosen. These flowers are also tied following the same method that is used for the jasmine to get a circular floral arrangement.
A cardboard or any other stiff board of suitable length is taken and cut to get a rectangular shape. Place jasmine on the cardboard and tie using a needle and string so that it is firmly in place. Next place the kanakambaram (firecracker flower ) flowers on the jasmine and tie them to the cardboard through the jasmine . The result is as shown in the second image. The third flower can be a rose or "maru" leaves ( that have been used in this poo jadai (braid decoration) ). The circular floral arrangement should of decreasing diameter so that the poo jadi tapers from the top to bottom ( it is wider at the top than at the bottom )
Then, the extra projections of cardboard are cut using a pair of scissors, carefully so that only the floral decoration is visible.
A smaller version can be used for festivals like Varalakshmi Vratham (Amman Alankaram ). Using a needle and thread make provisions at two or three places, for tying this decoration to the braid, taking into consideration the weight (!) of the flower jadai.
This is a simple combination of flowers, we can use different combinations to suit our taste and availability of flowers.
We can also change the order of flowers, having jasmine at the top instead of the bottom.
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