Are Grooms Turning Back To Traditional Safas For Their Wedding?

Earlier this year, for his wedding to Radhika Merchant, Anant Ambani chose a traditional red bandhani safa. Made from the gharchola fabric, with a distinct golden-hued border, the look was accompanied with a bespoke two-diamond solitaire sarpech, and a final white feather to complete the look.

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The groom’s headgear in Indian weddings is one that is steeped in history and tradition. The safa, a popular variation of this traditional headgear, and a not-so-distant cousin of the Sikh dastar and the Mysore peta, originates in Western India’s Gujarat state. It is traditionally created using bandhani fabric, with a resist-dyeing technique that dates back as far as the Indus Valley civilisation.

A Generational Act

Today, tying the safa is a task that falls upon trained professionals. Lovingly monikered safawalas, these are families who for generations have been in the business of tying headgears for grooms. Mumbai-based Usha Ji comes from one such family that has been in the business for over eighty years. “It began with my father- in-law Nagen Bhai, who used to be the go-to man for tying safas in our village, to the early years after he first migrated to Mumbai,” she says. 

Today, Usha Ji and her husband have taken this small family-run business to international heights. Her daughter and son-in-law are the third-generation of safa tiers, based out of Nairobi, Kenya — helping Indian families navigate diasporic weddings on the weekends. “Grooms there still insist on wearing the safa. It is a way they feel connected to their roots,” she says.

Narinder Singh Sachdev, another Mumbai-based safa-professional, also has a similar story to share. “Earlier safa tying was an intimate family affair that became the craze that it is today after Hum Aapke Hain Kaun released in 1994. It is something that the groom, his father, and everyone who is part of the entourage likes to sport with style.” Today, on an average, Sachdev ties 200 safas for every wedding he is hired for.

With Precision And Love

The process for preparing safas begins during the monsoons. Materials as varied as cotton, kota, chanderi, and Benarasi silks are sourced and stocked. Each material is then dyed, put through a centre press, de-starched for softness, and spliced into six-metre long fabric pieces. “We speak to designers and try our best to make safas that complement the groom’s outfit for the special day. But, it is difficult to work with silk and georgette. A good safa is one that stays on the groom’s head for at least two to three hours.”

After decades of tying safas, Sachdev proudly says that it takes him two minutes to tie a safa today. “There is no theory to this, just practical skills cultivated over the years,” he adds. It is a process that begins with asking the groom to hold a length of the excess fabric in the palm of their head. With the resultant, resistant pull-force, the safawala then goes around, wrapping the folded six-metre fabric around the groom’s head: with precision, love and blessings.

The Final Touch

Alongside deciding the fabric for your safa, is also essential to decide the accompanying

ornament sarpech. Sunita Shekhawat, founder of her eponymous jewellery label,

says, “The sarpech should be placed slightly off-centre at the front, highlighting its

elegance without overpowering the turban.” Stressing on the need for pieces featuring

intricate detailing and exceptional craftsmanship, she advises, “The piece speaks to

your personal style on your special day.”

Shekhawat shares the story of a client, who refurbished a family heirloom into a

sarpech for her granddaughter’s wedding. Shekhawat’s team of trained artisans carefully

refurbished the piece with a modern, regal look, without interfering with its intricate

details or tarnishing its sentimental worth. “The joy and emotion on the grandmother’s

face when she saw the final piece attached to the safa was unforgettable,” she says.

This has been adapted for the web from an article published in Manifest’s December 2024-January 2025 issue that is now on stands. For more stories like this, subscribe here!