The Indian Subcontinent shows a marked amalgamation of not only cultures, rituals but also lives and their psychologies. And the most beautiful part of such diversity lies in the subtle interplay between these cultures that make the Indian land of celebrations and enthusiasm. Holi marks the vibrant celebration of life and existence and has originated from various parts of India, although the same myth or legend is still an unclear domain. When looked upon the psychological aspect that lingers with the colors and the cultural intricacies we realize, Holi uses colors to imply a deeper meaning in a more metaphorical sense. Colors have been used as a global means of storytelling for ages, just as the story behind the color; the meaning behind colors have changed over time.
Colour is often used as a defining factor, and its implications change over time and between cultures. Yellow, for example, represents piousness and devotion during the Holi Festival and manifests the vibe of the Basant all over the northern belt of the mustard farms symbolizing life and its vitality, but has also been seen as indecent in significant realms of life wherein it’s pale forms. It has always been seen and studied that different colors can dramatically affect moods and emotions and affect the initial impact or perception a human mind might captivate.
The color is not an objective but a subjective creation. When a light incident hits an object, the object absorbs some of the light from the object and reflects the rest out. The absorbance and reflection of the colors happen due to the properties of the item and the excitation energy associated with it. The Wavelengths which are reflected would hit the retina of the human eye that responds to light. That is how we see the light. The color has been one of the most commonly used among many cultures for communicating amongst people and creating emotions, which are further mediums of expression for different traditions. The common idea is that a color can generate a specific feeling at any given time. This idea is something that we have to dig deep to understand.
The effect of colors can be perspective on one another as everyone has a different idea of emotions. We can not say other people would gain the same emotions by just looking into the same color. The idea of color psychology has been in the discussion for many years. The color, light can influence a person’s mood, and the surrounding is one of the most prominent theories that revolve around Colour Psychology. Neurologists and Biochemists have always have been arguing and researching that Colors can stimulate our brain chemistry and create emotions according to them by releasing neurotoxins and hormones. Exercise effects can be either physical or emotional, or both. The human’s Occipital lobe situated in the brain is mostly is associated with color visualization. The color green and blue, which are the most common colors in nature, can provide better healing to the stressed-out mind. It is experimentally proven that blue color is widely used in mental therapy to reduce stress and reduce the rate of suicide.
Culture, in the Indian lifestyle, is the very foundation of life and our lifestyle is more or less buildup on such cultural ideologies. The behavior of humans have a direct impact and reflect the cultural aspects of humans. Indian culture has always preserved Colors to show the values of each culture individually. Symbols have always been a powerful representation of organizations, personalities, cults, or any other communities. Symbols allow ownership, uniqueness, represent a demographic and its people, and helps to identify different groups of people amongst a community. The symbolism goes from national flags to marketing, where people sell their brands and products, creating their own identities. In some cultures, religion plays a huge role as an influencing factor for the culture. It has historically been seen that most religions use one or a few colors to symbolize their ideologies. The Colour chakras have a very prominent Therapeutic effect on most people and hence is a tremendous explorative field.
People always have felt different looking at specific colors because they are used to indicate certain instincts. Colors have also become a critical facet of culture that is overlooked. In essence, colors have the ability to capture an emotion. Because colors convey emotion, colors are also vehicles of meaning, whether it is to individuals or an entire culture. Colors are such versatile elements of our lives that their significance is marked in all domains of life. Whether taking in the splendor of a vivid rainbow against the dark grey-blue of thunderclouds and lightning after a summer thundershower or closely examining an iridescent butterfly wing, color plays a significant role in our fascination with the natural environment. From pigmentation to seasonal polymorphism to camouflage, it is nothing but colors that become the central dogma of widespread and species interaction in nature.
If our nature has such varied varieties of colors and the diversified effects they leave on the human mind, our cultures and traditions themselves are a mirror image of a sense boggling amalgamation of colors and their varied essence. From the Hari chaadar on the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya to the yellow Vastra on the idol of Narayan, to the Hari choodiyan worn by Aadishakti to the vermillion pataka fluttering in a Gurudwara, each color has its reason to be there. It is the metaphoric and the historical significance associated with colors that make them theme-specific.
While Eid, Christmas, and Diwali mark the celebration of life and vitality, the colors present in any forms are an amalgamation of not only ideas and thoughts but also of the experiences, journeys, and the struggles on has in life yet their subtle interplay amongst each other marks the quintessential need of each other to complete the spectrum of Life.
Colors have always played a very important role in religion and culture and have a profound significance, transcending purely decorative values. For most cultures, colors have a similar significance. Red indicates both sensuality and purity; red is of utmost importance and the color most frequently used for auspicious occasions like marriages, the birth of a child, festivals, etc. Red Vermillion is a symbol of marriage, and matrimony and sindoor is an important element of most Hindu married women. Saffron, the most sacred color, represents fire, and as impurities are burnt by fire, this color symbolizes purity. Green, being a festive color. Represents life and happiness. Suggesting peace and joy, green stabilizes the mind. Yellow is the color of knowledge, learning and symbolizes happiness, peace, meditation, competence, and mental development. It is the color of spring and activates the mind. White, being an amalgamation of seven different colors; hence it symbolizes a little bit of the quality of each. While it represents purity, cleanliness, peace, and knowledge. Qualities of bravery, manliness, determination, the ability to deal with difficult situations, of stable mind and depth of character are represented as blue colored.
All in all, colors have always played an essential role in our lives and can be used to enhance certain elements and tell a complete story by itself. Just as there are unlimited colors, we can use them to tell endless stories and emotions. The impact of colors remains subjective, no matter how hard we try to generalize their impact. Factors such as culture, age, and even the condition of our eyes influences how we perceive color.
- Manas Anand
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