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Traditionally, Indian women wear bindi (a tiny dot on forehead, not to be confused with Steve Irwin's daughter Bindi Irwin) for religious reasons.
The spot where the bindi is placed, typically between the eyebrows, is thought to be the location of the sixth chakra, ajna, which is believed to be the seat of concealed wisdom. The pottu is placed in order to retain the energy and strengthen concentration.
Most Indian women don't do the research as per why bindi is worn.
I never wore bindi during school days, just an upward streak of vibuthi (Hindu holy ash typically streaked on the forehead resembling piety) which disappears as soon as I get of the crowded school bus in the morning.
My Indian schoolmates have criticized my quirk of not wearing bindi, saying that I am not Indian enough and even disrespectful of my religion since I don't wear bindi. Does a tiny dot in between my eyebrows determine my identity and religion? If it is so, then I should have a bindi on when I was born.
Wearing bindi these days is no longer a matter of religious conduct or the identification of an Indian woman; it has become a fashion statement and a matter of preference and volition, to wear bindi or not to wear bindi. It is a right, not an imposition.
The idea of bindi is a red one for married women and a black one for maidens. Some married women wear a streak of vermilion at the parting of hair on their foreheads, a red alert signifying that they are taken.
But, commercialism and globalization didn't spare bindi. We now have colourful sticker bindis of all shapes and sizes worn by both married and unmarried Indian women. Westerners have started to wear bindi. From Indian culture, bindi has become a global fashion phenomenon.
An Indian girl is an Indian girl whether she wears a bindi or not. That tiny dot on her forehead doesn't determine her character, culture and race in this increasingly globalized world.
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