SIGNIFICANCE OF COLOURS IN

INTRODUCTION

•Culturally, India is a diverse mosaic of religion, tradition, and geographic influences, but the overall use of colour across cultures stands out as a unifying representation of the country. When they say life is colourful, they mean life has all shades of emotions. People cherish the enriching journey afloat this wide spectrum of emotions that makes life enjoyable.

•Colours are symbolic in nature. Everything on earth is colourful, and uncovers a treasure of symbolism. Use of colours is nothing but an expression of faith and belief. And for a country that is known for its spiritual consciousness, almost everything and anything has profound meaning. And to understand it better, here’s talking a look at the significance of some commonly used colours that will awaken your realisation:

Red

•In India, it holds a greater significance. The colour most frequently used for auspicious occasions like marriages, birth of a child, festivals, etc. Goddess Durga is often associated with the colour red. She is seen draped in blood-red saree. On the one hand red incites fear while on the other. It stands for purity and hence brides are often in red attires on their wedding day.

•The vermilion or Sindoor that is red in colour, is symbolic of her marital union with her husband. In a larger context, the colour represents fertility and opulence.

Global Scenario

• Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense colour. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a colour found in many national flags• Light red represents joy, passion, sensitivity, and love. Pink signifies romance,

love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness . Dark red is associated with vigour, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath . Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities. Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Saffron

•The most sacred colour for the Hindu saffron. Represents fire and as impurities are burnt by fire, this colour symbolizes purity. It also represents religious abstinence. This colour connotation has a sacred meaning for the Hindu. It is the colour of holy men and ascetics who have renounced the world. Wearing the colour symbolizes the quest for light. It is the battle colour of the Rajputs, the warrior caste.

Green

•It is a festive colour. It represents life and happiness. For that reason, a widow does not wear green. Symbolizing peace and happiness, green stabilizes the mind. The colour is cool to the eyes

•In a country steeped in religious beliefs, the origin of most colours lies in the powers and mythical lives of its gods. As is obvious for any agricultural economy, green symbolizes a new beginning, harvest, and happiness. It is also the revered colour of Islam, a large religious presence in India. Green symbolizes nature and therefore is a manifestation of God himself.

Global Scenario

• Green is the colour of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money . Green has great healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the colour of free passage in road traffic.• Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy . Yellow-green can

indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy . Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection . Olive green is the traditional colour of peace.

Yellow

•It is the colour of knowledge and learning. It symbolizes happiness, peace, meditation, competence and mental development. It is the colour of spring. Yellow clothes are worn and yellow food is eaten at spring festivals. Single girls wear yellow to attract a mate and keep evil spirits away

•The colour yellow has healing power. Turmeric, which is yellow in colour, is widely used in India as a spice and even as a beauty enhancing product. Turmeric acts as an antiseptic ingredient and which is why it is used in most food items prepared pan India. Yellow in India is also symbolic of holiness.

Global Scenario

• Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy . Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this colour. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colours when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.• Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy. Light yellow

is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.

White

•It is a mixture of seven different colours hence it symbolizes a little bit of the quality of each. It represents purity, cleanliness, peace and knowledge. The goddess of knowledge, Saraswati is always shown as wearing a white dress, sitting on a white lotus. The Brahmin - the highest social caste - is associated with white. White is also the colour of mourning. The other prominent deities would also have a touch of white on their dress. A Hindu widow would wear a white dress in mourning and symbolises a complete disconnection with the materialistic world.

Global Scenario

• White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection.White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.

Blue

•Blue The Creator has given the maximum of blue to nature (i.e.) the sky, the oceans, the rivers and the lakes. The deity who has the qualities of bravery, manliness, determination, the ability to deal with difficult situations, of stable mind and depth of character is represented as blue coloured. Lord Rama and Krishna spent their life protecting humanity and destroying evil, hence they are coloured blue.

•It stands for power and life. Though water is transparent, the colour blue is widely believed to be its colour. The vast horizon that acts as a roof gives a perception that water bodies on earth are blue in colour. Water sustains life on earth hence colour blue also represents dynamism. Moreover, Lord Krishna who taught mankind the right way to lead life had a blue skin tone, representative of power.

Global Scenario

• Blue is the colour of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.Blue is a masculine colour; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred colour for corporate America.• Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding,

and softness.Dark blue represents knowledge, powera, integrity, and seriousness.

Black

•In India, black is often associated with the evil. It symbolises darkness and negativity. But surprisingly the same colour is used as an antidote to ward off evil. Hence people use objects made of black and hang them outside their homes to prevent evil from entering the house. Even black cotton strings are tied on the wrist to fight negativity.•It is also a symbol of anger, apathy and lack of appeal

Global Scenario

•Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery . Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humour, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.

Some Fascinating Facts About colour

• It’s in everything we touch, taste, smell, and feel. It evokes emotion without asking for prior thought. It can be the focus of our careers, the way we live, the choices we make, and the fun we have. We are all familiar with colour and its basic concepts, but did you know…

Men and women see the colour red very differently

• While those of us who are estrogen producers tend to see maroon, cardinal, and crimson, men typically just see red. No varying tones, hues, or shades–just colour-crayon, fire engine red. The explanation is actually quite simple and all falls back on basic DNA. Researchers from Arizona State University found that there’s a specific gene that allows us to see and interpret the colour red. Women have two X chromosomes, while men only possess one. Because the particular “red-seeing gene” sits on the X chromosome, it only makes sense that women would have a full understanding of the red spectrum, while our counterparts only have half the pieces to the racy red puzzle. Therefore, ladies, if you’re one of those gals who just cannot make a decision when picking out a shade of lipstick, don’t put so much pressure on yourself. It’s really of very little importance.

Silver will save your life

• When purchasing that brand new vehicle and finding yourself overwhelmed by the 18-page book of options, your best bet is – and forever will be – to go with silver. Silver-coloured cars are least likely to be involved in an auto accident, since they are most visible on the road and in low light. This, coupled with lower insurance rates and the silver colour’s ability to maintain a look of cleanliness, manifests itself as a sure win.

Pink soothes the nerves

• Rowdy prisoners and combative patients? Pink is the palliative colour, commonly used to splash the walls in prisons and mental health care facilities to assist in subduing those who are out-of-control. So pink definitely has a useful place and a purpose, other than decorating a prom dress or Barbie’s dream house.

Bright colours will win you friends

• Colours are responsible for 62-90% of our first impressions of one another. That means that if you prefer black and neutrals to violets and oranges, it might be time to add a little colour to a bland wardrobe to make a better overall impression. Who knows? It could mean the difference between getting the job and meeting the mate of your dreams, or living alone and waking up next to a beer can pyramid on a Tuesday morning.

Blue is the most common Favourite colour

• Blue is the most favoured colour in the world, with purple being a distant second. A whopping forty percent of people worldwide would choose blue as their Favourite colour in playtime poll booth, with purple-lovers lagging way behind at fourteen percent.

Yellow makes you hungry

• Yellow and orange are not recommended for use in kitchens, as they are known appetite stimulators. With America’s ongoing obesity epidemic, it could possibly be time for Sherwinn Williams to do away with bright citruses that have wrongly adorned kitchen walls for the past five decades. Then again – where would our restaurant owners be without those clever little tricks that keep our waistlines wide, but leave us wanting more? I’m not normally one for conspiracy theories – but perhaps there’s something in it for them if we remain ignorant of yellow’s effects?

Colour is an imaginary friend

• Technically, it’s all in our heads: colour does not exist at all. It is something created by our brains as a side-effect, when it desperately tries to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information it receives from the outer world. So, should you ever find yourself in a heated debate over colour combinations with someone you are certain has an IQ below your car’s maximum speed or is just simply colour blind, keep in mind that it is a pointless argument and you should drop it immediately. You’re both wrong.

Colour wheels are the best thing since the wheel

• Invented in 1666 by Sir Isaac Newton, the colour wheel is by far the best tool to date to help us comprehend the colours that we see. Once we grasp how the colour wheel arranges the primary, secondary, and tertiary colours, we can better understand “harmonies”, or how and why certain colours complement one another. The colour wheel is a major concept in any colour theory class or course, and is crucial for certain careers, such as interior or graphic design.

Ground-up-remains-of-mummy goes splendidly with crimson

• “Mummy” was once a colour in ancient Egypt. Can you guess where the rich brown colour received its somewhat macabre name? You guessed it! From the actual ground-up remains of Egyptian mummies, both human and feline. The Pre-Raphaelite painters of the 19th century considered it one of their Favourite colours. The authentic pigment was produced all the way up until the early 20th century, when finally the supply of available mummy remains was exhausted. Though no longer containing the remnants of mummified corpses, the colour “Mummy Brown” can still be found today.

• http://www.colour-wheel-pro.com• http://www.sanskritimagazine.com• http://zeenews.india.com• http://www.wou.edu• https://ecoquette.wordpress.com• http://listverse.com