A lowdown on diverse hair jewellery and trends from bygone eras

The paasa, the women's hair ornament worn pinned to one side of the head, made a comeback on the big screen after decades with Bajirao Mastani. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Muslim social dramas and historical period romances were more popular, this hair ornament favoured by royal and high-born Muslim women was a regular feature. But note how the paasa worn by Mastani immediately became a marker for her Muslim-ness?

For the film's costume designer Anju Modi, who spent two years researching every little detail of what the characters would wear right from the drape of the sari to the adornments in the hair, the paasa was as much a marker of the times and the culture the film is set in the 17th century Peshwa court – as the distinctive sun-moon-flower hair pins that Kashibai wore high on her bun.

"Hair adornments have always been an integral part of Indian fashion, and you can see it in the Ajanta caves," says Modi, who visited the over 2,000-year-old site while researching the film. "They added to a woman's beauty.

Married women, in particular, wore the more elaborate matha pattis and maang tikas. In our culture, it is considered impolite to look directly at a woman's face or eyes, and the glittering pieces on her hair are supposed to deflect attention from her face," she adds.

No wonder you see an immense diversity of hair ornaments across India. For instance, the Islamic paasa has a south Indian counterpart – talai saman – circular ornaments worn on both sides of the head, signifying the sun and the moon, the male and female energies.

Similarly, the maang tika, an embellished chain-like ornament that covers the front parting, has a Rajasthani counterpart in the borla (also called raakhdi), which has a rounded, bell-like shape. The south Indians have the nethi chutti, which is a more elaborate, band-like ornament embellished with red and green gemstones.

Then there is the maatha patti, an even more elaborate headpiece comprising three golden chains – the central one along the parting, and the two side ones that define the hair line. Several versions of this basic design are worn in different parts of India – Rajasthanis have the khaancha, which is generally worn attached to the borla; brides sometimes wear sheesh pattis, an additional jewelled hair band, along with the khaancha in a layered style that covers the head. But a more interesting and rarely seen variation of this is a hair ornament called the shinka, worn by tribals in Gujarat, a series of heavy chains in gold or silver held together by flat metal strips or carved motifs of peacocks or other animals.

The maang tika, says fashion jewellery designer Shillpa Purii, and the maatha patti have come back into fashion in the last few years. "Everyone wants a little glitter in their hair. Mostly for weddings, not just for the bride, but also close relatives. In some cases, I have even designed something that could be worn with a Western gown."

Among other traditional pieces of hair jewellery is the sheesh phool, pinned on the bun, which is a variation of the cuda-mani that Sita is mentioned as wearing in the Ramayana, says Usha Balakrishnan, a historian who specialises in Indian jewellery.

The most elaborate head-adornment is, however, the jadai hu (also called jadai nagam) which starts from the top of the head and runs all the way to end in tassels at the tip of the plait. "It is usually worn by brides and elaborately carved with motifs of vines, snakes, beads and flowers," says Balakrishnan.