And the Chinese! Red literally dominates life in Chinese communities all over the world; red and green in some combination but with red dominating. It is a sign of prosperity and the combination is a metaphor for the balance in the universe. I was in Beijing a couple of years back and was astounded by the amount of symbolism that is a part of everyday life in China. It was somewhat unexpected.

I discovered this to be one of many cultural similarities that the Chinese have with the Indians. Red is accorded significance in India too and is associated with aupsiciousness; although it doesn't quite dominate the cultural consciousness like it does with the Chinese.

There is a brilliant red powder that is applied by married Hindu women in northern India, to the scalp, where the hair parts. This is called Sindoor and denotes a married state. As in, only married women wear it in their hair. Tagore translates this word as vermillion in his writings. I am not sure if the *colour is called Sindoor in Hindi or if the *powder is. Anchita?....