Why Colour Matters in India

8/8/2019 Why Colour Matters in India

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Why ColourMatters In India

Suma JoshiGM - Marketing

B R A N D E X P O N E N T S



The ripe purple of a ‘baingan’ ready to be turned into a bharta. A

peacock fanning out its lustrous turquoise plumage in anticipa-

tion of a thundershower. From a slate gray sky heavy with the

promise of the monsoon. A Gujarati Thali, a whole spectrum, with

yellow dal, orange aamras, red chhundo, green chutney, pale

cream kadhi. The vivid hues of a bandhani dupatta or a Kanje-

evaram Sari. Even the Tricolour, our national standard, the

Tiranga. Is there any aspect of our country that does not immedi-

ately invoke colour?

For how long have we enjoyed this dance with colour? Vedic

literature established the relationship. A culture that was based

on worshipping the elemental forces of nature wrote poetical

hymns to the golden orb of the Sun, the dappled light of the

dawn, the lushness of the harvest in the elds, each verse was

adorned with evocative descriptions of colour. Each colour was

not merely a descriptive adjective; it was layered with symbolic

meanings from prosperity and success to fertility and abundance

to the promise of renewal and new beginnings.

The famous gurine of the dancing girl in her ‘tribhanga’ posture

excavated at Mohen-jo-daro from the Harappan Civilisation

already shows indications of the use of colour in cosmeticenhancement of feminine beauty. Emotions as classied in the

Natya Shastra include Shringara, the woman engrossed in

preparing herself for a romantic liaison. Using a range of natural

ingredients and processes, our ancients had already developed a

wide range of colour cosmetics. Kajal or kohl as it is better known

to the world, perhaps is the most famous product of this legacy.



Each part of India discovered bres that could be woven

into fabric, of vegetable as well as animal origin giving us

wool, silk, jute, cotton, palm bre and much else that was

then dyed using dyes and colours of vegetable, mineral

and animal origin. At least one, Indigo or Neel entered thenational consciousness during the Indigo Riots at Chau-

richaura made famous by Mahatma Gandhi’s intervention

to bring the agitation to a peaceful end.

Salvation itself is seen as a colourful celebration. Meera

describes her union with Lord Krishna as being coloured in

his hues. Indeed, the traditional Indian prayer is a celebra-

tion of colours: yellow haldi or turmeric, red kumkum, pink

gulal, black bukka, creamy orange sandalwood paste,

white grains of rice, brown coconuts and of course any

number of colourful owers, leaves, fruit and vegetablesare all a part of Pooja and Yajna rituals.

This then is the land of a hundred colours and a thousand

hues.

It is therefore not surprising that even now, colours have

integrated themselves in every aspect of our lives. We are

immediately drawn to anything and everything that is

colourful. We begin our thought process in colour and not

just black & white.

And this is the very same thought that we have in DYW

when we think of brands, designs….our work speaks the

language of colours...

log on to www.dmayellowworks.com

follow us on www.brandexponents.blogspot.com

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Why Colour Matters in India