The Colour Red
The Colour Red
During one of the training sessions that I had attended the trainer asked us, to tell him what our favourite colour way and what it meant. This topic has brought back memories in a time and space when I was attending a training session in Kamala Mills about ten years back.
In the class of 25 odd people, I remember that there were three of us who found the colour red to be the best colour and I was one of them. I used to love all things red. And I continue to do so now. It is a beautiful colour, a natural colour which is naturally inbuilt in precious items ranging from rubies to low hanging apples to cheeks of babies.
It is a feisty colour. As a creative person, I think red has an impact on our emotions. It invariably invokes passion, love and desire. It is intense. In a similar vein, it denotes power, aggression and energy. Goddess Durga Is also dressed in red. She symbolises a mother, a protector ready to take on all things which are not in accordance with nature and justice.
I am also reminded of a new bride, when I think of red. When a bride gets married, she is often in red. A bride, demure, shy, waiting for her knight in shining armour to take her away to dreamland. Red is an auspicious colour, always in the fore, for any occasion heralding all good things in life. It is the colour of warmth, a colour denoting action.
Incidentally, it is also the colour to warm people of impending danger. We often use the phrase; “Use red flags to indicate possible problems and anticipate road blocks to a particular project.” Why is red used in this case- red is such a colour, which stands out in the background. You can identify a red flag from afar fluttering in the winds.
So what does red mean to you?
Discussion
- RE: The Colour Red -Sumangala Varun (03/26/14)
- Introduction
Colors are symbolic in several ways. We often use colors to signify moods. For example, when someone is feeling blue, it means they are feeling sad. If somebody sees red, it means they are angry. The color pink symbolizes love, and the feminine, green indicates jealousy, and so on.
In contemporary culture
The color red can be used to express several things. In a traffic signal, red indicates stop. It also indicates danger. Bright red colored clothes can attract the unwanted attention of an angry bull! However, scientifically, many animals including bulls cannot identify the color red. In a bull fight, it is the fluttering movements of the red cloth that disturbs the bull, and makes it attack the fighter, and not the color. Traditionally, red is the color Indian brides wear at their wedding. In some communities, brides are required to wear red bangles for a certain period after their wedding. Bengali women wear a pair of red and white conch bangles to symbolize their marital status. Similarly, in most Indian communities, women mark their foreheads with red vermillion, to indicate that they are married.
Another important significance of red is communism. The red flag stands for revolution, communism, and the labor class or working class. Striking workers carry the red flag to indicate their dissent. Red roses are associated with love, and gifting red roses to one’s sweetheart is common. Lovers exchange little red hearts at Valentine’s Day, the festival of love. Red carpets are a sign of luxury, and several social events roll out the red carpet for their important guests, and celebrities. A combination of red and green is used in Christmas, as the color of Santa Claus.
On a serious note, red is also indicative of blood. The Red Cross is used to denote hospitals, and ambulances.
In art
Red is a common theme in traditional Indian art. Orange, a distant cousin of red is the dominant color in Kerala murals. The now popular Maharashtrian Warli paintings were made in shades of red on walls. Modern day Warli art that has been adapted to clothes and accessories are made in different colors, such as black. Madhubani paintings also have distinct red undertones. Similarly Tanjore paintings also have their base in red. The Punjabi embroidery work of phulkari is an elaborate work traditionally done on shawls, and is part of a bride’s wedding trousseau to her matrimonial home.
Conclusion
After an exhausting session on the red color, it is not surprising if the reader sees red. Before you punch the wall and expose some of your red, pour yourself a glass of sparkling red wine to soothe your frayed nerves!
