Enter the Koyambedu flower market, and you are greeted by a riot of colours. Rows upon rows of crimson roses, yellow chrysanthemums, white jasmine, and every imaginable bloom spill into the narrow lanes. While the wholesale market is the it-spot for all your floral needs, one of Tamil culture’s oldest traditions — of braiding the poo jadai — has also been thriving.
Meandering through this maze — much like the flowers that weave themselves into a bride’s braid — we reach Sri Ayyappan Flower Stall, where a pair of hands are stitching together a masterpiece.
The store, run by Muniyammal (53), is strewn with jasmine mottu alongside roses, nandiyavattai (Crape Jasmine or Pinwheel flower), mullai poo, mandarai elai, bamboo stick, banana sheath, and banana fibre. On one side, in plastic boxes and covers, flow out tiny Krishna idols, cardboard lotuses, bride-and-groom dolls, strings of golden beads, and colourful embellishments, each waiting patiently to find its place on a poo jadai.
Before the flowers and other ornaments become part of a bride’s braid, they first pass through Muniyammal’s calloused palms — a testament to 48 years of hard work and labour. “I have been making poo jadais along with decorative flower adornments and garments for deities for about 48 years now,” shares Muniyammal, who came into this profession when she was about five years old. “My father passed away when I was very young. My mother struggled to raise us on her own. There were times when we slept on the roadside,” she adds, talking of her early initiation into this craft.
Since then, all her hands knew was to pull a thread taut, tuck in a bud, straighten a petal, and move on to the next. She began with traditional floral braids, which were primarily made up of flowers like kanakambaram and mullai positioned in alternating layers on mantharai leaves. “Earlier, we stitched everything on mantharai elai. But now, we use bamboo material because it gives better support and appearance. The flowers can stain because of the soil and moisture they carry on the mantharai elai. That’s why we shifted to bamboo some 10 years ago,” she notes.
On the bamboo base, intricate floral arrangements are sewn with a thread-like material that the vendors call ‘narambu’. “It (the thread) is manufactured in Malaysia. Since it doesn’t get dirty easily, everyone has started using it.” Traditionally, the braids were stitched using natural fibre (naar). “It doesn’t stain easily and gives a neat finish. Nowadays, we often use narambu because the finish looks better,” comments Muniyammal.
She also offers a glimpse of her five-decade work in the industry, where she has watched not just brides change, but the braid itself, starting from the materials. With the resources evolving, the designs caught up to newer trends. Since the past year, variations of the poo jadai have appeared. Muniyammal points out, “A newer trend is to stitch groom and bride’s dolls.” Lotus-shaped decorations made from foam have also made an appearance since 2025.
Depending on the design, the florists place four to six dolls on the jadai. “We purchase the dolls for `40. At present, we get these dolls from Bangalore and Mysore,” she explains, adding, “Customers usually tell us what they want, and we create the model. Nowadays, people see designs on the Internet and ask us to recreate.”
The attention to detail expected from each finished product has each vendor spending about one-and-a-half hours to complete one braid.
Custom meets contemporary
About 40 years ago, when Muniyammal had just started making a name in the business circles, these “modern” decorations didn’t exist. “Back then, people only knew the traditional flower braid. They would first be wrapped with a damp cloth, then rolled tightly, and covered with mantharai leaves,” she explains.
Now, brands are manufacturing artificial flowers that look realistic and can be worn easily as they come with bobby pins, slides, or clips attached to the flowers. “They look so real that once my customer watered them and stored them in the refrigerator for the night,” recalls Akshaya Krishnakumar, founder of Happy Pique.
From her experience, makeup and hair stylist Gayathri Ashok Kumar shares, “Earlier, these decorative works weren’t common. They mainly used natural fibre, flowers, and dry fruits — including badam and walnuts — to make the braids. Nowadays we purchase decorative beads and accessories and use them.”
In 2026, these trends are passé. “As time passed, people wanted more innovation. That’s when lotus designs, Aari work, and decorative bases started becoming popular. You can buy these and it will last long, some are even waterproof,” she notes.
Reimagining the braid
Homegrown brand Vriksham Jewellery & Apparel Pvt Ltd takes inspiration from nature, the real flowers, and try to replicate the texture, colour, and shape on foam and tissue paper. “Jathi malli, malli, mullai poo are the most sold ones at any given point in time,” shares Vaishnavi Raghavan, CEO and director at Vriksham, adding, “After Shobita (Dhulipala, actor, during her engagement) made kanakambaram a thing, they sold a lot.”
She notes that the handmade tissue flowers are non-washable but the die-cutting-machine-made foam ones can be gently washed. “Do not expose the flowers to heat as it may lead to withering or a change in shape. All these flowers can be reused multiple times for years,” Akshaya adds.
Priced at `1,399 — charges vary based on the size of the product — the demand for these flowers seems to be growing every day. As Vaishnavi puts it, “Flowers do not see any occasion, festivities, or anything. They are not just occasion-friendly but people-friendly.”
Happy Pique has also expanded their business in making poo jadais using artificial flowers. “Makeup artists buy from us as a one-time investment and then rent them. We charge `4,500 for a 40-inch poo jadai,” shares Akshaya.
She involves herself in the making of these jadais just like Muniyammal. Explaining the process, Akshaya says, “Once the buds are ready, we can make five to ten strings per day. But to make the buds and get the end product ready, it takes one-and-a-half days.”
The only act that remains common between the real and artificial flowers, after going through multiple stages of progression, in design and material, is the way it is attached to women’s hair. The jadais are sewn by hand by the florist or the hair stylist.
A poo jadai has never been merely an ornament. It appears at every threshold of a woman’s life. Yet, beneath every modern embellishment remains the same invisible labour. The work is physically demanding. Fingers remain bent for hours. Flowers keep staining the skin black. In a world where bridal trends change with every viral reel and flowers can outlive seasons, the rhythm of artisans like Muniyammal remains unchanged.