The vermillion dot or “sindoor” on a bride’s forehead is a symbol of marital pride. During rituals and traditions, it dictates who’s accepted or rejected. But today the sindoor has become a symbol of inequality between the married and the unmarried. The campaign turned the single dot, a symbol that divides, into two dots, a new symbol of sisterhood. It made its debut at Sindoor Khela, a festival reserved for married women. Transgender people, widows, divorcees and sex workers joined married women to celebrate Sindoor Khela together for the first time in 400 years.
FCB Ulka’s #NoConditionsApply campaign for Times of India aims to change the 400-year-old Bengali Hindu ritual of Shindoor Khela from one of division to one of inclusion. During this custom, married women come together to celebrate their marital status, while others – namely single women, divorcees and widows, as well as the gay and transgender community – are forced to look on, uninvited. #NoConditionsApply creates a newly inclusive Shindoor Khela: narrated by various unmarried women from the community, the film presents the point-of-view of these onlookers, and gives them a voice for change. This new celebration embraces all women, regardless of background or social identity, to transform the long-held tradition of division into a tradition of sisterhood.
История (оригинальный язык)
The vermillion dot on a bride’s forehead is a symbol of marital pride. In our religious society, only a woman wearing sindoor, is considered auspicious.During rituals and traditions, this sacred symbol dictates who’s accepted, and who’s rejected. Today, this sindoor has become a symbol of inequality between the married and the unmarried.We transformed this single dot, a symbol that divides, into 2 dots, a new symbol of sisterhood. The 2 dots were used to ambush Sindoor Khela, a festival reserved for married women. We changed the divisive festival into one that includes every woman.In September 2017, transgenders, widows, divorcees, sex workers, and married women, came together to celebrate Sindoor Khela, for the first time in 400 years.