The bindi. At first I wasn't sure what it meant, and just like everything in India- it depends on who you ask. "Which way to the beach?" And you'll get a hundred completely different responses. "How do you say Thank You?", and you'll be told 12 different ways. The infamous Indian head wobble really sums it up, because the wobble could mean yes, no, maybe, perhaps, or "go F yourself". Ah, Indian. Love it. So, sama sama with the Bindi. It could mean your married, that you visited the temple, that youre hindu or it could represent your third eye. But alas, I was told that in the end it doesn't matter, because it is a cultural thing and everyone wears them now. Jess put a crystal one on my forehead yesterday, and I received endless compliments about how beautiful it was, and how it made my eyes sparkle. I was told by a local woman that mostly tourists wear the crystal ones, but that they were beautiful none-the-less. Then Giddya, the older woman at Whispering Lakes, gave me one of her Bindis, which is much more traditional and worn by local (mostly married) women. It's a red felt dot, and since putting it on- ALL of the Indian men and women have given me bright smiles and have told me how beautiful I look. They really appreciate the local flair, and I quite like the decoration- so I think that Bindis have become a new staple in my attire. I think I'll even keep the trend going upon my arrival back home....
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