Random and otherwise unanswered questions... |
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Dec 2nd, 2004, 15:41
| #1 |
| Back in Australia  Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Australia
Posts: 375
| Random and otherwise unanswered questions... What's the difference between a bindi and a tikka? Why do they differ? e.g. usually a red dot, sometimes a yellow smudge with a red dot, sometimes a white dot, sometimes three horizontal white lines, etc? Is the leaf they wrap a beedie in a tobacco leaf or something else? Why do (er, some) Indian people turn the TV volume up so loud it distorts and can be heard by everyone on their floor of the hotel? Other burning questions may follow.
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Dec 2nd, 2004, 16:35
| #2 |
| Member  Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Australia
Posts: 83
| And why do guys and guys hold hands and guys and girls don,t?????????? |
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Dec 2nd, 2004, 17:14
| #3 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bologna, Italy
Posts: 292
| "The bindi is a small ornamental dot placed at the center of the forehead, between the eyes. The word itself is derived from the Sanskrit bindu, meaning dot. Metaphysically speaking, it is the dimensionless point of infinite potential from which has originated all manifested existence. It is further said to signify the mystical third eye, an invisible organ of spiritual perception and second sight, traditionally said to be situated at a point little above the place where the eyebrows meet.Interestingly at some places men too adorn their foreheads with this 'third eye', but predominantly it remains a feminine trait. " "Sindoor is a deep, rich blood-red powder applied in the parting between the hair. Exclusively used by married women it represents their marital status." "The tika is a composite ornament composed of a chain with a hook at one end and a pendant at the other." http://www.exoticindia.com/article/jewelry I'm not sure but I think that sometimes bindi and tika are the same ......  Ciao! |
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Dec 2nd, 2004, 17:21
| #4 |
| bang a whore? Bangalore Dammit!  Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,558
| I'll try to answer some of them here. Bindis & tikka: Bindis are either hand painted or you can get stickers which you pin onto the forehead. machine made stuff. Tikka is vermillion powder, applied by hand which is mostly is a smudge. The yellow smudge is sandalwood paste generally applied in the south especially in Kerala. The white dot is wood ash otherwise called 'vibhuti' pronounced 'V-bhoo-thi'. Generally, some sects, says 'iyers' apply 3 lines of ash on their forehead which would generally signify that they're shaivites[1](the 'runway gang' as we refer them in our house) or you might find them done vertically in a U shape with a red line which signifies they're Iyengars or Vaishnavites[2](AKA, the stump gang in our house). You might notice some people wearing a thread across their body which is the sacred thread/'poonal'[3] in the South. Only men wear that. Application of vermillion is gender neutral i.e. you'll find both men & women do it. In beedis the leaf is the Tendu leaf, from a tree cultivated or harvested from forests. We turn the TV volume so high because YOU can watch the same program with the volume muted! Say you're watching Ramayana, as everyone religiously does; all you have to do is watch it with the volume off as there'll always be one family which will have the TV shrieking. Enjoy. :-) Guys hold hands because if they held a girl's hands, they'd get beaten up! Desperation leads to the solution that any hand will do! BTW, Girls too hold hands, more out of fear of the mad chaps following them, I guess. Safety in numbers, I say. Seriously, it's never the gender bending thing as most westernized people think, we are used to a lot less personal space than you think. Heck, then India must have the largest population of bi/cross 'xual[4] oriented people in the World. All replies *not* guaranteed to be true. Footnotes: [1] Shiva Worshippers [2] Lord Vishnu Worshippers [3] People in the North too waer ti but i don't know what they call it. [4] don't want to trip any web filters |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 09:51
| #5 |
| Back in Australia Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Australia
Posts: 375
| Cool, thanks DD  Also: How do men hold their lungis up? Do they use a safety pin, or just tuck them into their underwear? (in the case of the latter, this will answer the question as to whether there's anything underneath the lungi). Why is it that restaurants will assume that because I'm a westerner, that therefore Michael Jackson would be a good choice of CD to put on? This has happened at two different restaurants to me in the last week. One waiter even came over and proudly told me thay'd put it on just for me. Yikes. |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 11:27
| #6 |
| Maha Guru Member  Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: India
Posts: 751
| timmy: You must be happy to know ,these reataurents guyz gave special treatment .haahaaahha j/k. Actually i think its there ignorence,they still think western music means old Mikey.If he has more knowledge about music they wontbe working in hotel. Enjoy India. radz
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 11:54
| #7 |
| Account Closed by User's Request  Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: the Netherlands
Posts: 6,009
| Why is it when I walk past of row 20 rickshaws, everyone of them asks me if I need a rickshaw |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 13:53
| #8 |
| Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: India
Posts: 751
| cyberhippie:that they will ask all,thats bussiness. I have seen Kanyakumari ,the temple road where all reasturents entrance ,one hotel guy standing,inviting to there hotel. First it look funny ,then same thing other places also i have seen also(Paris,or Interlaken) ppl inviting to see there menu,asking to come inside. This is direct marketing.  radz |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 13:56
| #9 |
| Member  Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South of England.
Posts: 12,306
| Why is there a Hyderabad in both India & Pakistan? The Brahmaputra is said to be the only 'male' river in India, So what about the river Krishna? (I don't understand.) |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 14:03
| #10 |
| Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: India
Posts: 751
| Krishna is unisex name  we do have female name Krishna.Not only Hyedrabath,they have Punjab state too. radz |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 16:13
| #11 | |
| back to my old ways  Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 1,507
| Quote:
no pins, just a good job of tucking it in! some guys use belts too. diagram below on the tucking technique | |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 17:01
| #12 |
| This is just a cameo appearance  Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India
Posts: 38,230
| Lungi is the stiched cloth that one steps into and then ties? Not sure, but I wear vesti for appropriate occasions in UK and always in India. It is practical, comfortable and (apart from the lack of pockets) much superior to trousers in that climate Vesti is the 4-yard piece of cotton or silk with coloured borders on the long edges and stripes at each end. Tamil people call it vesti, Kerala people call it Mundu. Vesti Technique... Having reached the point of BigZero's diagram, the bit with the flap hanging out is twisted , or rolled, with the main part it is hanging out of. This will hold it up securely, even if the tucked in corner (the outside edge with the stripe) comes out, it will not fall off. It is not necessary to wear a belt. Silk is less secure than cotton, it will need retying regularly. Cotton will stay for hours. Still too hot? pick up the corners from near your ankles and tuck in at the waist: you now have a knee-length garment. Kerala people put the stripe on different sides according to religion. Tamil people will mostly put it on the right, but putting it on the left does not have special meaning. I put it on the left 'cos I did 'mirror image' of the person who showed me how, and it's hard to change now even though Kerala people say, "that's wrong". |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 18:59
| #13 | |
| bang a whore? Bangalore Dammit! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,558
| Quote:
a) the ends are stitched together b) they're coloured. It's inappropriate to wear lungis when you're out to visit someone/ someplace especially temples. Lungis are the equivalent of dresses you wear when you're pottering about your house,garden or shed or nipping out to the corner shop to buy something. You *will* find people wearing it to temples and other places which is an indication of their economic background and education. Veshtis are worn for formal occassions generally or worn inside the house as a 'normal' dress. People generally have about 3-4 sets of old ones which they wear for everyday use and some fresh ironed ones when going to temples. On festival occassions, they might have a cotten towel in the same shade knotted around the waist or over the shoulder called 'angavastram' or it just might be a new,coloured cotten towel for the same purpose. As to left-right orientation, it's sometimes pointed out or sometimes not, made even worse if you're a left-hander! | |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 19:37
| #14 |
| Oilfield Trash!  Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 700
| http://www.exoticindia.com/article/jewelry Fabulous site Serena! I was once tikka'd by a Nepalese priest, where the vermillion paste was mixed with rice. What's that about? |
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Dec 3rd, 2004, 20:20
| #15 | |
| Maha Guru Member  Join Date: May 2004 Location: UK
Posts: 2,134
| Quote:
This is my favourite way,,,,, Holding it behind you with a corner in each hand slightly front, bring the right corner just left of and below your belly button, nip this corner with whichever part of the lungi on the left side meets it when pulled round tight, The surplus in the left hand is then concertined back & forth in ever decreasing folds under your belly, take the top of these folds with both hands about 10 inches apart and from the back turn them over forwards once about an inch, Thats it done, It looks smart, It's very secure & the folds protect your modesty even when you sit down cross legged. As a slight variation you can lift the bottem hem up and lightly tuck it into the waist, thus turning it into a mini,,,,,,,,,, Last edited by indiamike; Dec 3rd, 2004 at 20:27.. Reason: fixed quote tag | |
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