Woman Up: This Bengaluru-based initiative creates bindis for women who are away from mainstream fashion

The word ‘bindi’ originates from the Sanskrit word ‘bindu’, which means ‘drop’ or ‘particle’. Symbolising the cosmos and, most importantly, divine femininity, bindis continue to grace Indian women till date, although their forms have changed over time.

While most of us opt for a humble black dot with our Indo-westerns or the coloured, one-time-wear bindis, we can’t help but marvel at the gold bindis our moms and grandmoms wore during special occasions.

Drawing inspiration from this rich tradition, Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Meghna Khanna founded The Bindi Project. It focuses on creating and promoting bindis for women who are often excluded from mainstream fashion. Crafted to be used several times, these bindis are designed to resonate with both traditional and modern sensibilities, ensuring that every woman can find a bindi that reflects her personal style.

With the OG bindi connoisseur Usha Uthup wearing her bindis, Meghna has come a long way with the project. We speak to her to understand her inspirations and the creative processes that have guided her in this journey. Excerpts:

Tell us a bit about yourself.

As an Air Force child, I grew up across the country. I loved the aspect of travelling to the lesser-explored parts of our country. Corporate life was certainly not my calling. Hence, I quit my job, moved to Bengaluru without a plan and followed my passion of bringing Indian crafts to an urban audience. I was merely 23 years old when I started my store Levitate running it successfully for the next 18 years till Covid struck and we had to shut shop.

How did The Bindi Project begin?

I started this as a zero-waste upcycling project a couple of years ago: it started with me hand-cutting leather scraps to make bindis.

How did the idea come to you?

I had heard stories from women on how their mothers and grandmothers would wear gold bindis for special occasions, which were handed down as family heirlooms. This has been happening across many Indian states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and even Nepal. What struck me was the availability of a bindi glue, which could change the one-time use aspect.

Bindis are worn differently across parts of India. What factors do you consider before designing?

The bindis are hand-made. My background in market research has helped me in creating a niche where nothing like this quite exists in the market, which was surprising, considering the size of our country. Each bindi is a statement, regardless of its size.

Do all the bindis have any signature style in design?

The aesthetic is earthy, invoking the inner goddess within us. Each bindi is created for the one who doesn’t settle.

What materials are the bindis created with?

They are created out of felt, leather and upcycled textiles. We’re also introducing a range of embroidered bindis.

How has the response been so far?

It’s been an interesting experiment in learning how our inner voices judge us as women when we observe ourselves in the mirror. It’s been wonderful to interact with women from different walks of life and hopefully inspire them to take a leap of faith in themselves.

Have you come across any interesting facts about bindis?

The fact that the ‘sticker’ bindi only came about during the 1980s! There is a specific bindi adhesive that makes it possible to reuse bindis instead of discarding them.

Do you have any new plans for The Bindi Project taking shape soon?

The upcycled fabric bindis and a full calendar of pop-ups across the country in the second half of the year is what we have in store.

Email: prattusa@newindianexpress.com

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