I had a great oppurtunity to ask about this while I was travelling in india. I did a cooking class that was just held at the mans home, he had a second, well done ‘teaching kitchen’ in his basement. We ended up making food and eating it with his family that evening after we hit it off!
Anyway, the wife had a Bindi, and I asked about it. She was thrilled to share! She brought out her little pigment grinder and cosmetic ink/pigment, and told me a bit about the reasoning (better explained elsewhere here).
The takeway here being that often with stuff like this, people are stoked to share, and just excited that you’re showing an interest in a non-offensive way. Never be afraid to ask someone about their religious accoutrements. Ask Sikh’s about their daggers, as muslims about Hijab/Niquab, ask about yarmalukes, it’s all good, and I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t immediately go ‘OH’ and snap into happy educator mode.
Traditionally, it was for religious or spiritual purposes. But most people just wear it today because that’s what they’re used to growing up. Women from different parts of India wear different types of bindi, and for different reasons, too. It’s not *necessarily* red=married, black=unmarried. There’s also different patterns, and it’s often regional. (I used to be jealous of the women who were “able” to wear the cool crescent-moon ones, because as a kid I was obsessed with Sailor Moon and wanted to wear that. I think that pattern is more common in North/East India but I’m not sure.)
Diaspora in the US or elsewhere just wear what is common in the community they hail from. Most of the women in my family just prefer wearing the little black versions, for example. It’s not mandatory at all — my mom only wears it sometimes these days, though she used to wear it daily from what I remember. My cousins and I who live outside India pretty much don’t wear them at all, and most of the Indian girls my age who I’ve met here don’t either. We sometimes wear one if we’re wearing more traditional clothes just for the aesthetic or vibe (or to make our parents/grandparents happy), but for daily life it’s becoming less and less common even *in India*. I studied there for the better part of the previous decade, and virtually none of my classmates wore it either — though I was in an urban city and that definitely impacts it lol.
However, I think most of us still really enjoy wearing the [pretty decorative ones](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/SpUAAOSwAPhjtUGi/s-l1600.jpg) when we dress up in fancier clothes like lehengas. It actually feels kinda weird *not* wearing it when you’re otherwise all dressed up — like you forgot to put on your earrings or something.
It’s definitely not insensitive to ask, so don’t worry! It’s actually really nice to share this stuff! When I had a cultural fair thing in our elementary school, we bought packs and packs of those decorative bindis to share to other girls — or boys, if they wanted! It was in a pretty rural American town so I was kind of worried I’d get made fun of, but instead they all loved how pretty the bindis were and happily wore them. It was wonderful seeing that, and it was actually the first time I didn’t feel embarrassed of my heritage. Helped me get over my whole “reject your traditions to fit in” thing lol!
Hope this perspective helps, I just felt like sharing! o/
It’s called bindi or kunkum. Traditionally consecrated vermillion powder is applied between the eyebrows to cover the anja chakra, so that you receive impressions from the world through that. There are other reasons too. Considered hugely beneficial.
In more orthodox communities everybody, men and women, wears it.
Nowadays it has watered down to a synthetic dot for ornamental purposes.
That’s not a mole dude. It’s called bindi and is an important feature for any bride or a married woman in an Indian Hindu family. Commonly black is used after marriage but in Bengali households both red and black can be used. Girls now wear bindis of variety of colours no matter their age unless married.
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