Pottu.. bindi
This has been a post that I have been wanting to write ever since I found myself buying a multi-coloured chandu (tilakam or pottu) in a Fancy store in Trichur and Thazhamboo kumkum in Giri Trading, Mylapore.
It bought back nostalgia of the many hours spent in Fancy stores(another thing disappearing from our landscapes), selecting bindi stickers, bangles, hair pins, ear-rings etc ...
I thought of what I can remember about this lovely bindi:
I am a Tamil brahmin (Iyer) with ancestors who settled in Kerala many generations ago. For us or until my generation , Pottu is sacrosanct.
When I was young(say 20 years ago), our mothers and grandmothers wore kumkumam made of turmeric. Then came the Eyetex paste which was applied and then kumkum applied on this. After this came the 'chandu' or 'tilakam' (with the white cap) initially in red, black and maroon. The multi-colour chandus made their appearnace soon after. The stickers came next, initially in circular shapes and then the long namam types. Shilpa and Eyetext bindis were the pioneers. Then came drawing various shapes with the eye-liner. Now of course, we have stickers in all sizes, shapes and colours with shiny chamkis etc.
We have moved with times and stickers, chandu and eye-liners serve as our pottu. The traditional Kumkumam has now been pretty much regulated to temples and keeping it when we go to temple.
It bought back nostalgia of the many hours spent in Fancy stores(another thing disappearing from our landscapes), selecting bindi stickers, bangles, hair pins, ear-rings etc ...
I thought of what I can remember about this lovely bindi:
I am a Tamil brahmin (Iyer) with ancestors who settled in Kerala many generations ago. For us or until my generation , Pottu is sacrosanct.
When I was young(say 20 years ago), our mothers and grandmothers wore kumkumam made of turmeric. Then came the Eyetex paste which was applied and then kumkum applied on this. After this came the 'chandu' or 'tilakam' (with the white cap) initially in red, black and maroon. The multi-colour chandus made their appearnace soon after. The stickers came next, initially in circular shapes and then the long namam types. Shilpa and Eyetext bindis were the pioneers. Then came drawing various shapes with the eye-liner. Now of course, we have stickers in all sizes, shapes and colours with shiny chamkis etc.
We have moved with times and stickers, chandu and eye-liners serve as our pottu. The traditional Kumkumam has now been pretty much regulated to temples and keeping it when we go to temple.
A lot of good things have been mentioned about the pottu - about the region between the eye brows being a special point , the third eye, the act of keeping a pottu simulates the accupressure points etc. It brings attention to the area near the eyes (the mirrors of the mind).
Kumkumam holds a special place in our poojas. The best kumkumams are made from ground turmeric(a hailed anti-septic). Madurai kumkumam is famous for the thazhambu smell. Kumkumam is especially used in Archanai, especially for Devi.
Our make-up, until a few years ago consisted of pottu, kajal (kann mashi, mayi), flowers, jewellery(ear-rings, bangles, mangalsutram, metti) and sarees. The pottu is one of our most beautiful adornments without which our daily make-up would be incomplete. I can't even think of anyone of my mother's generation who would forsake it, it is held in so high an esteem.
Iyer homes and others also have/had the definitive act of offering kumkumam to female guests and relatives before they bid farewell.
Keeping a pottu is something unique to us Indian women, our trademark, something that has been with us almost since our birth (esp Iyer women).
Alas, this beautiful trademark seems to be disappearing from everyday lives, making its mark only on special festival days and weddings. Another thing of the past as we continue to wade into a sea of conformity and homogeneity.