It has been noted that there were variations to the practice. Examples include that the person who tied the "thali" might be a close female relative, such as the girl's mother or aunt, and that the ceremony conducted by such people might take place outside a temple or as a small ceremony at the side of a more lavish "thalikettu kalyanam "rather than in the "tharavadu". These variations were probably exceptional and would have applied to the poorest families. Fuller has also remarked that if each girl had her own "thali" tier, rather than one being used to perform the ritual for several girls at the same ceremony, then this presented the possibility of a subsequent divergence of status with the matrilineal line of the "tharavadu", leading to more subdivisions and a greater chance that one or more of the girls might advance their status later in life.