Pooja Thali

The thali is the tray that carries everything a ritual needs: the aarti lamp, kumkum and haldi, akshata, flowers, a bell, and the prasad. It is the working surface of a puja, held and circled during the aarti, so it has to be the right size and the right weight in the hand, not just the right look.

Ours run from an 8 inch daily plate to a 12.5 inch bhog thali, in brass, engraved German silver and hand-painted meenakari.

Getting the size right

The most common mistake, and the easiest to avoid. An 8 inch thali is right for daily aarti, light to hold and circle. A 10 inch is the versatile middle, for regular puja and small festivals. A 12 inch and up is a festival and bhog thali, meant to carry a full offering and to be seen, and it is heavier than it looks once loaded. Match the size to how you will actually use it: a large thali held daily becomes tiring, and a small one at a festival looks lost.

Check too whether a listing is the plate alone or a set, since some come with a matching diya, bell, kumkum bowls and a spoon, and some are the tray only.

Which metal

Brass is the traditional choice, heavy, warm-toned and abhishek-safe, and it cleans indefinitely, darkening between times as oxidation rather than damage.

German silver is worth being plain about: it contains no silver at all. It is roughly 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc, also sold as nickel silver, bright and durable and a good material, but it should not be priced as though it were silver, and it cannot be hallmarked. If anyone in the house has a nickel allergy, it is worth avoiding against the skin.

Meenakari thalis carry fired enamel colour, which is beautiful and wants a gentler hand, wipe dry only, never a paste. See the meenakari collection.

Care

Brass: lemon and salt or tamarind for tarnish, rinse and dry fully, and wipe out any oil or kumkum after use so it does not stain. German silver: a soft cloth and an occasional proper silver-cloth for tarnish, never an abrasive. Meenakari areas: dry cloth only. A thali that carries a lit diya should be treated as a heatproof surface, which brass and German silver both are.

As a gift

A thali set is a reliable griha pravesh and housewarming gift and a common one at Dhanteras and Diwali, since every household uses one and a better one is always welcome. See also wedding gifts; for volume, corporate gifts or the bulk order enquiry page. For the full ritual set, pooja essentials, and the deities in god idols and figurines.

Before you order

• Match the size to use: 8 inch daily, 10 inch versatile, 12 inch festival and bhog.
• Check whether it is a set or the tray alone, and what the set includes.
• German silver contains no silver. Good material, but not silver.
• Meenakari thalis are wipe-dry only.