Silver Anklets & Payal for Women

Payal, pajeb, pattilu, kolusu: the same piece

A silver anklet is a chain worn around the ankle. It is called payal across most of North India, pajeb or pazeb in Hindi and Urdu, pattilu in Telugu and kolusu in Tamil. The piece is the same; what changes from region to region is how heavy it is and how many bells it carries.

Every anklet on this page is 925 sterling silver, not German silver or silver-plated brass, and ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Daily-wear or festive: which anklet should you buy?

For everyday wear, choose a plain chain with no ghungroo. It sits flat under jeans and socks, does not catch on a saree border and makes no sound at work. Our simple designs include a 1.2 mm box chain, a flat curb pair, a 2 mm ball-chain pair and a snake-chain anklet.

For weddings and festivals, ghungroo is the point. The oxidised ghungroo payal chimes softly, and the bridal pair has five rows of small closed bells on a broad chain. If you are buying for a bride, the payal-with-bichiya set gives you two payal and two matching toe rings in one box.

One anklet or a pair?

In India payal are traditionally worn as a pair, one on each ankle. A single anklet is the modern way to wear one, often a fine chain or a single charm such as our lotus anklet.

Each listing says whether you are buying a single or a pair. Where a design is sold singly, add two to your cart for a matching pair.

What size anklet do you need?

Measure around the ankle just above the ankle bone with a strip of paper, then add half an inch to an inch so the chain can move. Most adults need an anklet 9 to 11 inches long, which is the adjustable range of almost all our adult anklets.

For babies, our payal come in 4.5–6 inches for newborns and 6–7 inches for toddlers, each with an extender and a screw clasp a child cannot open.

Evil-eye, black-bead and charm anklets

Nazar payal carry an enamel eye or a run of black beads, a custom followed for adults and babies alike. On our pieces the chain, setting and clasp are 925 silver; the eye is enamel and the beads are glass, and we label them that way rather than calling them stones.

Charm anklets hang a single motif on a fine chain. The layered leg chain uses two strands for a fuller look without the bulk of a ghungroo payal.

Toe rings (bichiya) to wear with payal

Bichiya are worn on the second toe, traditionally by married women, and are usually bought to match the payal. Ours are adjustable, so no sizing is needed, and come in plain and oxidised finishes.

Price and care

Adult anklets start at ₹1,798 for a plain box-chain anklet and go up to ₹9,398 for the bridal ghungroo pair. Baby payal start at ₹2,398.

An ankle meets sweat, soap and water every day, so take your anklets off before a bath, wipe them dry and keep them in the pouch. The rhodium finish on most of our daily-wear designs keeps them bright far longer than raw silver.