‘Give Me Red’ is more than a popular, 32-two-year-old, advertising slogan of an Indian company manufacturing batteries. What started off as describing a battery ended up defining a generation! ‘Give Me Red’ hasn’t been just about a red cell battery, it’s about an attitude, an endless craving for the power to express youthful vibrancy and long-lasting energy. Amazingly, ‘Give Me Red’ still resonates with a generation hungry for everything new and on the move.

What’s Special About The Colour Red?

In various cultures, the colour red is considered an auspicious colour for religious and cultural ceremonies, bringing good luck and prosperity. The colour red has long held powerful spiritual and cultural significance. Symbolising fire, it embodies passion, strength, vitality and courage. Globally, red is associated with luxury and elegance, dominating art, fashion and design. In Chinese tradition, it’s revered as the luckiest colour, signifying prosperity, joy and success, worn at weddings and festivals, and gifted through money-filled red envelopes (Hong Bao). Interestingly, Parsi customs also mirror this tradition, embracing red in wedding attire and ceremonial décor as a symbol of auspiciousness and celebration.

Red In The Parsi Tradition

In Parsi Zoroastrian tradition, red is an auspicious colour symbolizing good fortune, fertility and prosperity, especially for brides at weddings. Red represents the colour of blood or life and good health. During the ‘Rupia Peravanu’ or formal engagement ceremony, the groom’s side presents the bride with new clothes, jewellery and accessories, including a red-coloured saree and red bangles. However, for the actual wedding ceremony the bride typically wears a white or cream coloured saree.

Earlier, Parsi men wore red instead of black pheta and pagdi. Even today, many wear a red cap while praying or visiting the fire-temple. Men also wore a white coat (Dugli) over a loose red Shalwar (trouser). In fact, an old Navsari tradition saw grooms wearing a red lehgo (loose legging) during their weddings. Moreover, after a child is initiated as a priest (Navar), a red shawl is draped around his shoulders, usually by the head priest of the Agyari.

Also, before the e-greetings era, birthday or new year greeting cards and picture post cards were sent to friends and relatives with good wishes penned in red-ink. On birthdays, navjote, wedding or wedding anniversary, sagan with red kumkum tili on the forehead is a standard practise. The practise of tili is adopted by Indian Parsis from Hindus who apply tilak on the forehead. Another custom we borrowed from Hindus is ‘Chhathi naa lekh’ which is based on the belief that the destiny of the new-born child is written by the female divinity of destiny on the sixth day (chhath) after birth. Among the items in the traditional Ses or ceremonial tray is red Kumkum, a red prayer cap, a pen and an inkpot filled with red ink.

Red In Iran

In ancient Iran, red was the colour of royalty and was used to display imperial pomp and pageantry. The ancient Achaemenid Empire’s Flag (550 BCE – 330 BCE) had a red background with the emblem of a golden eagle while the Sasanian era (224 AD – 651 AD) flag (Drafs e Kavian) had a four petaled flower design which also looked like a star on a purple background. The flag was encrusted with jewels and had trailing red, gold and purple streamers on its edges.

In Iran, the colour red also symbolizes love, passion, vitality, strength, courage, power, kinship and celebration. Red is still a signature colour in Persian carpets, pottery, and textiles, adding vibrancy and intensity to indigenous designs. Yalda night, a celebration of the winter solstice in Iran and other Central Asian cultures, prominently features red fruits, particularly pomegranates and watermelons, which symbolize dawn (birth of the sun) and the hope of brighter days to come.

Red Across Religious Traditions

Throughout the Catholic Church’s history, the colour red has been associated with sacrifice and passion. Jesus Christ used red wine during the Last Supper symbolizing his blood, central to the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist (or Holy Communion). Catholic cardinals wear scarlet red robes to symbolize their willingness to shed their blood for the Christian faith. The scarlet red robes represent blood of the martyrs of the Church as also the blood of Jesus Christ. The Pope also wears red garments during formal occasions, representing compassion, sacrifice and the blood of martyrs.

Red (deep burgundy) is considered sacred in Tibetan Buddhism and worn by ordained monks and nuns. Among Hindus, red dhotis are commonly worn for religious ceremonies, spiritual occasions and festivals as also for formal events, as traditional attire. In Kundalni yoga and the tantric tradition, the colour red is often linked to the root chakra – Muladhara and represents grounding, survival and stability. It’s also associated with love, desire and ambition.

Use Of Kumkum

Kumkum in Hindu tradition is a vibrant red powder with deep cultural and spiritual significance, representing auspiciousness, purity, and the divine feminine energy (Shakti). It is used in various rituals and adornments, including the bindi worn by women or tilak on the forehead. Red is seen as a mark of good fortune and prosperity. Some traditions and yogic practices view kumkum as a substance that helps gather and retain energy, potentially aiding in balancing chakras and enhancing spiritual receptiveness. When applied to the forehead, typically at the Ajna chakra (the spiritual third eye), kumkum is believed to ignite intuition, improve concentration and protect against negative influences.

Sindoor Is Not Kumkum

Sindoor and kumkum are not the same. While both are red powders, they differ in composition, application and symbolism. Traditional kumkum is primarily a mixture of turmeric and slaked lime while traditional sindoor is made primarily using mercury sulphide. Sindoor came to India from Iran where it was called zinjifrah (dragon-like blood) or shangarf. However, Iranians did not use it for any symbolic, ritualistic or religious purposes. The earliest reference to the use of sindoor comes from the Harappan civilisation (Baluchistan), where clay figurines have been shown with sindoor in the parting of the hair.

Sindoor is worn by married women and applied along the hair-parting, while kumkum is used commonly in religious rituals and as a bindi or tilak on the foreheads of men, women and children, and offered to religious idols. Sindoor was also traditionally used for medicinal purposes in Ayurveda, benefitting women in stimulating blood flow and promoting vitality.