Behold an Indian bride on her wedding day – her eyes will smoulder through delicately-applied lines of kohl, her skin will glow thanks to months of homemade facial treatments, her clothes will be glittering, and her hair perfectly coiled. But look closer – what is that smudge hidden behind her ear? And what is that penciled mole doing on that toddler’s face? Why is that worn shoe hanging on the rear bumper of the dazzling new car?
All this has to do with the amusing Indian concept of nazar battu, its main purpose being to protect beauty from the jealous “evil eye”. The nazar battu can be lemons and chillies strung together above the door of someone’s home, an ashy smear strategically applied on a bride’s skin and then hidden away in the folds of her sari, or even a black thread tied around a woman’s toe or ankle.
The irony, however, is that no attempt is made to shield or hide the object of envy from that perceived, ever-lurking evil eye. A bride will never be allowed to look less than perfect, and who dare advise the owner of the new car to keep his precious booty hidden in the garage? No, beauty and wealth must by all means be flaunted, with the protective role entrusted to a token, sometimes microscopic, nazar battu.
To sum up the Indian relationship with beauty and the sense of sight: “dekho magar pyaar se” (look, but with love).
Sights, visuals, and appearances provide an all-encompassing glimpse into not just the tangible but also subtle elements of a culture. Hence they have always been of critical importance to India.
Not to be outdone by the sheer beauty of their land, the people of India, it would seem, chose to stay in step. The proof? Beauty treatments and make-up techniques were given the pride of place in ayurveda – an ancient Vedic system of traditional medicine – with thousands of prescribed beauty rituals and remedies juxtaposed against its more “serious” medical concerns such as surgery and preventive medicine.
Ayurveda has listed scores of treatments: lotions, potions, and unguents focused on restoring health and enhancing beauty. Ayurvedic cosmetics – organic and all-natural – could be derived from the ingredients in one’s kitchen.
Sandalwood paste, a beauty aid used even today, played the dual role of protecting the skin from the sun along with enhancing the skin’s glow. Turmeric, saffron, and henna were commonly used to improve the hair texture, colour, and also complexion. In fact, literature of the fifth century AD – for example, Kalidasa’s Shakuntala – lists various ayurvedic beauty treatments favoured by the eponymous seductress.
Even back then, Indians gave much importance to appealing to the observer’s sense of sight. Today, the power of ayurvedic beauty treatments is being acknowledged and many international cosmetic companies are substituting their chemical additives with ayurvedic basics.
The fact that beauty treatments had takers even in ancient India goes to show that the people of this country have never taken beauty (physical or temporal) lightly. The quest for beauty is woven in the country’s cultural fabric, often translating into a feast for the sense of sight.
In the sumptuous buffet that India lays out for the eyes, colours mysteriously take on different hues. A simple blue will look exceptionally vivid and acquire the name “phiroza”; orange will pop with drama and turn into “narangi”; a pink will grow richer, deeper and will be referred to as “rani pink”.