Sindur Khela (Bengali: সিঁদুর খেলা), literally meaning 'vermillion game', is a Bengali Hindu tradition where women smear each other with sindur on Vijayadashami, the last day of the Durga Puja. On the day of the Vijayadashami after the conclusion of the ritual worship, married Bengali Hindu women apply sindur on the forehead and feet of the goddess and offer sweets to her. Then they put sindur on each other's faces and offer sweets to each other
THE ORIGIN OF SINDUR KHELA
The exact date and place of origin of the tradition is not known.According to one theory, the tradition originated around 200 years ago in the Durga Pujas of the zamindar houses to usher bonhomie among the housewives.According to a second theory, the tradition of Sindur Khela is as old as Durga Puja itself, around 400 years.The ritual is enjoyed just like a game and hence the name Sindur Khela.Sindur Khela is regarded as one of the most important rituals of Vijayadashami.
UNDERSTANDING OF THE RITUAL
The ritual worship of the goddess concludes with the Visarjan Puja. It is followed by Devi Baran, where the married women bid farewell to the goddess. The women are usually dressed in white saris with red borders and adorn traditional jewelries.[6] Each of the women perform arati and smear the goddess' forehead and feet with sindur. They also offer her sweets and betel leaves.[3] Following that the women smear each other's foreheads with sindur.[7] Then they put sindur on each other's shankha,[7] pala[7] and noa,[8] the conch shell, coral and iron bangles respectively, which are worn by the married Bengali Hindu women. Then they smear each other's faces with sindur. Finally they offer sweets to each other as prasad.[7] According to commonly held belief, if a woman plays Sindur Khela by following the proper custom, she will never be widowed.
Criticism associated with the ritual
The ritual has been criticized in the recent times for multiple reasons. The ritual has been criticized as non-inclusive in character because the participation in the ritual is strictly limited to married women only. In 2017, The Times of India initiated an Internet video campaign featuring Rituparna Sengupta, that called for participation of single women, widows, transgenders, lesbians and sex workers in Sindur Khela.[13]
The ritual has been criticized by Taslima Nasrin for being patriarchal in nature, because of the over emphasis on the married status of the goddess as well as the women.[8] Bengali Hindu girls grow up seeing the married ladies in their family participate in the playful ritual, which creates among them a sense of life being incomplete without getting married. Critics feel that this can create a regressive impact on young women.
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