The most important and typical traditions of India

Namaste

The moment you step into India, in all probability, the first word you will get to hear will be Namaste! Namaste, also said as Namaskar by the natives, is a traditional Indian style of greeting or parting phrase as well as a gesture. The literal definition of the word Namaste is "I bow to you" or "I bow to you out of respect".

Henna

Whenever there is any happy occasion or festivity, the Indian women celebrate it by applying henna designs on their hands and feet. Applying henna is also considered as very auspicious, and it is a complex art and the artist needs to be proficient to be able to paint intricate designs swiftly. Also called Mehndi, one can prepare the henna by making a paste out of the henna powder available in the markets across India. Traditionally, it is made by grinding the leaves of the henna tree to a paste.

Kajal

In India, Kajal is a form of eye makeup, which has been in vogue since the ancient times. It's the womenfolk of India who mostly apply kohl to darken their lower eyelid. However, it is also applied in case of children's and earlier, even the Indian men used to wear kajal. Traditionally, it was prepared at home by females, as protection against eye ailments.

Tilak

In India, you will find people wearing a red, yellow, orange and, rarely, a black mark on their forehead. It's called the tilak, or tilakam. People also wear it on other parts of their body like neck, arms, chest and so on. Women generally wear the tilakam as a small dot on their forehead. Tilaka may be worn in India, either on a daily basis or on special religious occasions.

Apart from being a decorative mark, it also indicates that the wearer belongs to a particular sector social group.

Bindi

Bindi can usually be described as a traditional red circular mark or dot worn by the Indian women on their forehead. When this is accompanied by a vermillion mark on the parting of hair just above the forehead, it indicates that the particular lady is married.

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