The woman with the piercing in her left nostril wore both a sindoor and a bindi

Older woman with Sindoor and Bindi
Woman with both a sindoor and a bindi
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A round-faced woman in a saree stood before me. She had a sindoor on her forehead, a bindi between her eyebrows, and a nostril piercing. She looked like she had all the Indian features on her. The sindoor meant that this woman was married, and the bindi indicated that she was most likely a Hindu. In other words, the sindoor and bindi represent the attributes of the person wearing them.

On the other hand, it was not easy to know what the nose piercing meant. After much research, here is what I found out. In Ayurveda, the left nostril is considered to be connected to the reproductive function. Therefore, it is said that many people get their noses pierced in order to lighten the weight of female-specific complications. Indeed, careful observation reveals that women in India who have nose piercings always have them in the left nostril. This woman also had her nose pierced on the left nostril.

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Nov 2013 INDIA PEOPLE

PHOTO DATA

No

8104

Shooting Date

Jun 2011

Posted On

November 25, 2013

Modified On

December 10, 2023

Place

Malda, India

Genre

Portrait Photography

Camera

CANON EOS 1V

Lens

EF85MM F1.2L II USM

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