it is now normal for the bride to wear her "choora" for a month and a quarter (40 days). as the "choora" is made of fragile materials, punjabi custom has it that the bride may refrain from heavy housework in her marital home to keep it intact for the 40 days, as a kind of honeymoon. after that, in traditional homes at least, she takes over the lion's share of domestic work from her mother-in-law.