Bindi, the divine mark of feminine celebration

Apart from beautiful saris and gold jewellery, one of the most internationally famous accessories worn by Indian women is the dot on the forehead, the bindi. The word bindi comes from the Sanskrit ‘bindu’ that means a dot. It is also called Tikli, Pottu, Tika, Sindoor, Tilak, Tilakam, Kumkum, Teep in different parts of India. An eye-catching round mark on the forehead between the eyebrows, a spot considered as a nerve point in the body since ancient times.

The bindi is considered an auspicious symbol of marriage. As an Indian bride steps over the threshold of her husband’s home bedecked in the glittering attire and ornaments, wearing the red bindi and sindoor, she is believed to usher in prosperity and piety.

I have been adorning it since my marriage, a signature motif that proclaims without guarded scrutiny a conclusive identity. My fascination for this feminine dot that encompasses within it a whole range of messages and meanings began when I was a girl in my spiky pigtails. To date, I have vivid memories of the forehead of my mother and other women in the family stamped with those definite spots of vermillion.

When the toys and trifles of adolescence were flung off into the repositories of childish innocence, then came for me the time to take up the thimble holding the vermilion. To me this red dot symbolises femininity at its best. A timeless Indian fashion icon, it lends the face an aura of divinity. This at once brings to my mind the blazing bindi on the forehead of Goddess Durga, evoking radiance and resplendence. This bright and beautiful bindi alters the look of an Indian woman’s face instantly. Being the site of Kundalini, it is believed to enhance brain power. Imagine having to look at an image of Brinda Karat or Sushma Swaraj or the inimitable glitter-bling pop queen Usha Uthap without their signature style sovereignsized bindi!

Lyricists have gone dotty coining phrases such as ‘bindiya re’ and ‘bindiya chamkegi’ and so on, binding one to the imagery of Jaya and Mumtaz. In earlier times, the bindi often stood out as a round red mark on the forehead, gradually it was put between the eyebrows and nowadays even to the bridge of the nose. The dot can vary from basic to designer, from a comma, semi-colon, colon, an exclamation mark to beadwork, handprint, meenakari, colourcoordinated with the attire and accessories.

So has the red dot been transformed disgracefully? Quite the contrary, it holds an enhanced place of pride today. Now the red dot is there by choice and neither is it always red or round nor is it adorned only by married women. Hence, the bindi is no longer short for ‘binding’. It is a choice worn by women for its charm. This choice is the reason that the bindi has evolved from mundane vermilion to ornamental adjuncts.

The sheer power of the dot has withstood the whims and fancies of generations, cutting cross the dictum of age, class, status, culture and religion, connecting women of different nations. It is a divine mark of feminine celebration.

THE BINDI IS NO LONGER SHORT FOR ‘BINDING’. IT IS A CHOICE WORN BY WOMEN FOR ITS CHARM. WHERE THERE IS A CHOICE, CAN FREEDOM BE FAR BEHIND?