Sindoor khela is the Bijoya Dashami ritual where women offer vermilion to Durga and smear it on each other: who takes part, how it is done, what to wear.
Women smear sindoor on each other on Bijoya Dashami. Photo: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Sindoor in the parting of the hair is a sign of marriage for many Hindu women in Bengal, along with the red and white conch-shell and lac bangles (shankha and pola).
Blowing the shankha, the conch, during worship. Photo: Subhranilbasak0, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Customs differ between pujas and families, but the sequence usually runs like this:
Women smear sindoor on each other on Bijoya Dashami. Photo: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Traditionally sindoor khela has been for married women. In recent years some pujas have made a point of welcoming widows, unmarried women and members of other communities, and in many pandals friends and visitors are drawn in.
Sindoor khela in black and white. Photo: Abhinaba Basu from Redmond, United States, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
The day continues with the immersion processions and Bijoya greetings: touching elders' feet, embracing friends and sharing sweets.
Women smear sindoor on each other on Bijoya Dashami. Photo: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Sindoor khela is the Bijoya Dashami ritual where women offer vermilion to Durga and smear it on each other: who takes part, how it is done, what to wear.
Sindoor khela → Next story: Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu: the verses and their meaning All photo storiesMusic: Rhythm of Dhak a huge membranophone instrument from Bengal and Assam, used in Hindu religious festivals, especially Durga Puja, Sumita Roy Dutta, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.