George Batra, October 6th 2014
Dear Editor,
I absolutely disagree with your statements and pretty much most of your article as you state that pop star Selena Gomez who is an American wearing a Bindi for her latest is song is a GOOD thing?. Do you even realize how much the bindi means to the Hindu culture?.
Firstly, the bindi is worn on the forehead of married Hindu women. The bindi represents female energy and is believed to protect the women and their husbands, its that precious to begin with. The bindi is a holy decoration, one that can only be worn under a certain condition and with Selena Gomez wearing it as "just a fashion piece", it's a flat out insult that a woman is just wearing it just for the sake of it and to make it look a lot better. Sure I hear her latest song has Indian dancing but that's just a dance, a dance requires you to just move your body not put something offensive on your forehead. This doesn't show her knowledge and understanding of the Hinduism culture (I have many friends from different countries around the world that know what the bindi is), it shows her stupidity for not knowing the meaning of it and not realizing how offensive it can be to use it just as a tool.
The only thing I agree with you in your article is how you say that ancient meanings are getting diluted but I don't like how think it's just a downside. It is absolutely sad if the bindi is later on in this world in foreign countries known to people to be some cool, trendy fashion accessory and with the people not even realizing where it's from or what it's spiritual meaning is and how much meaning it has to the Hindu and South Asian culture. You state that you don't have to be a Mexican-American to celebrate Cinco De Mayo or you can be South Asian and celebrate Christmas even though it's not a celebration in your culture so thus you can be a foreigner and wear a bindi all the time. Celebrations are meant to be celebrated by EVERYONE, you don't need to be a certain race or part of a certain culture to celebrate them because you are celebrating for something great, there is reason why you are celebrating it but when you wear a bindi as a foreigner, you are not wearing it for any positive reason and usually when it comes to wearing clothes from a foreign culture, you never realize how much meaning that accessory has or what really do the clothes mean. Wearing a bindi for no reason is not a good thing.
Your last paragraph, you stated that Americans wearing a bindi is a good sign as they at least know it and that they are very welcoming to people of the Hindu culture and the fact that there was no backlash from Indian-Americans after Selena Gomez's performance shows another ethnic group feels secure in America?. First off, it is no big deal knowing a bindi as the South Asian community is one of the largest and the bindi has for decades been known to be one of the most popular decoration pieces. Selena Gomez wearing a bindi doesn't further prove that South Asians feel safe in United States, it just offends the Hindu culture because she is using something very holy for a pointless use and already in United States, 2.8 million people of Indian origin reside there so it already shows they feel safe as none of them are trying escape America or protest daily on the streets or cause any violent harms. There is no need for backlash with this case as there has been no deaths or murders or any sort of violence to the Hindu culture such as the temple shooting in Wisconsin 2 years prior but it is still an insult and it doesn't sit well with me and it shouldn't sit well with any other member of the Hindu culture.
George Batra
Dear Editor,
I absolutely disagree with your statements and pretty much most of your article as you state that pop star Selena Gomez who is an American wearing a Bindi for her latest is song is a GOOD thing?. Do you even realize how much the bindi means to the Hindu culture?.
Firstly, the bindi is worn on the forehead of married Hindu women. The bindi represents female energy and is believed to protect the women and their husbands, its that precious to begin with. The bindi is a holy decoration, one that can only be worn under a certain condition and with Selena Gomez wearing it as "just a fashion piece", it's a flat out insult that a woman is just wearing it just for the sake of it and to make it look a lot better. Sure I hear her latest song has Indian dancing but that's just a dance, a dance requires you to just move your body not put something offensive on your forehead. This doesn't show her knowledge and understanding of the Hinduism culture (I have many friends from different countries around the world that know what the bindi is), it shows her stupidity for not knowing the meaning of it and not realizing how offensive it can be to use it just as a tool.
The only thing I agree with you in your article is how you say that ancient meanings are getting diluted but I don't like how think it's just a downside. It is absolutely sad if the bindi is later on in this world in foreign countries known to people to be some cool, trendy fashion accessory and with the people not even realizing where it's from or what it's spiritual meaning is and how much meaning it has to the Hindu and South Asian culture. You state that you don't have to be a Mexican-American to celebrate Cinco De Mayo or you can be South Asian and celebrate Christmas even though it's not a celebration in your culture so thus you can be a foreigner and wear a bindi all the time. Celebrations are meant to be celebrated by EVERYONE, you don't need to be a certain race or part of a certain culture to celebrate them because you are celebrating for something great, there is reason why you are celebrating it but when you wear a bindi as a foreigner, you are not wearing it for any positive reason and usually when it comes to wearing clothes from a foreign culture, you never realize how much meaning that accessory has or what really do the clothes mean. Wearing a bindi for no reason is not a good thing.
Your last paragraph, you stated that Americans wearing a bindi is a good sign as they at least know it and that they are very welcoming to people of the Hindu culture and the fact that there was no backlash from Indian-Americans after Selena Gomez's performance shows another ethnic group feels secure in America?. First off, it is no big deal knowing a bindi as the South Asian community is one of the largest and the bindi has for decades been known to be one of the most popular decoration pieces. Selena Gomez wearing a bindi doesn't further prove that South Asians feel safe in United States, it just offends the Hindu culture because she is using something very holy for a pointless use and already in United States, 2.8 million people of Indian origin reside there so it already shows they feel safe as none of them are trying escape America or protest daily on the streets or cause any violent harms. There is no need for backlash with this case as there has been no deaths or murders or any sort of violence to the Hindu culture such as the temple shooting in Wisconsin 2 years prior but it is still an insult and it doesn't sit well with me and it shouldn't sit well with any other member of the Hindu culture.
George Batra
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