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{{Infobox recurring event
|name = Sindur Khela
|native_name = সিঁদুর খেলা
|native_name_lang = bn
|logo =
|logo_alt =
|logo_caption =
|logo_size =
|image = Bijoya Dashami.jpg
|image_size = 200
|alt =
|caption = Sindur Khela at [[Nagaon]], [[Assam]]
|status =
|genre = Tradition
|date = [[Vijayadashami]]
|frequency = Annual
|venue = Durga Puja pandal
|location =
|country = [[India]], [[Bangladesh]]
|footnotes =
}}

'''Sindur Khela''' ({{lang-bn|সিঁদুর খেলা}}), literally meaning 'vermillion game', is a [[Bengali Hindu]] tradition where women smear each other with [[Sindoor|sindur]] on [[Vijayadashami]], the last day of the [[Durga Puja]]. On the day of the Vijayadashami after the conclusion of the ritual worship, married Bengali Hindu women apply sindur on the forehead and feet of the goddess and offer sweets to her. Then they put sindur on each other's faces and offer sweets to each other.

== Origin ==
The exact date and place of origin of the tradition is not known.<ref name="toi17102010">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Women-to-pay-sindur-khela-today/articleshow/6761373.cms|title=Women to pay 'sindur khela' today|date=17 October 2010|work=The Times of India|publisher=Bennett Coleman & Co.|access-date=30 September 2017|location=Lucknow}}</ref> According to one theory, the tradition originated around 200 years ago in the [[Durga Puja]]s of the [[Zamindars of Bengal|zamindar houses]] to usher bonhomie among the housewives.<ref name="durgotsav.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.durgautsav.com/sindoor-khela/|title=Sindur Khela or Sindoor Khela|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> According to a second theory, the tradition of Sindur Khela is as old as Durga Puja itself, around 400 years.<ref name="toi17102010"/><ref name="boldsky">{{cite web|url=https://www.boldsky.com/yoga-spirituality/faith-mysticism/2016/significance-of-sindoor-khela-106485.html|title=Significance Of Sindoor Khela|date=11 October 2016|work=boldsky.com|publisher=Greynium Information Technologies|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nagpurtoday.in/sindoor-khela-visarjan-mark-durgas-farewell-in-nagpur/10251027|title=‘Sindoor khela’, ‘visarjan’ mark Durga’s farewell in Nagpur|date=25 October 2012|work=Nagpur Today|access-date=30 September 2017|location=Nagpur}}</ref> The ritual is enjoyed just like a game and hence the name ''Sindur Khela''.<ref name="boldsky"/> Sindur Khela is regarded as one of the most important rituals of [[Vijayadashami]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/dussehra-vijayadashami-2017-date-puja-vidhi-muhurat-timings-preparation/874429/|title=Dussehra (Vijayadashami) 2017: Date, Puja Vidhi, Muhurat Timings, Preparation|date=30 September 2017|work=Financial Express|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Sindoor Khela-011.jpg|thumb|Bengali woman participating in Sindur Khela in puja pandal in Delhi]]
== Contemporary ritual ==
[[File:Sindoor Khela in Sainthia.jpg|thumb|Women pose for photographs after Sindur Khela in [[Sainthia]], [[West Bengal]]]]
The ritual worship of the goddess concludes with the Visarjan Puja. It is followed by Devi Baran, where the married women bid farewell to the goddess. The women are usually dressed in white saris with red borders and adorn traditional jewelries.<ref name="ndtv">{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/food/durga-puja-2017-the-significance-of-sindur-khela-or-sindoor-daan-on-vijayadashami-1756108|title=Durga Puja 2017 :The Significance of Sindur Khela or Sindoor Daan on Vijayadashami|last=Sengupta|first=Sushmita|date=29 September 2017|work=NDTV|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> Each of the women perform ''arati'' and smear the goddess' forehead and feet with [[Sindoor|sindur]]. They also offer her sweets and betel leaves.<ref name="boldsky"/> Following that the women smear each other's foreheads with sindur.<ref name="indiavivid">{{cite web|url=http://indiavivid.com/sindoor-khela-married-bengali-womens-favorite-ceremony/|title=Sindoor-Khela: All Married Bengali Women’s Favorite Ceremony|work=IndiaVivid|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> Then they put sindur on each other's ''shankha'',<ref name="indiavivid"/> ''pala''<ref name="indiavivid"/> and ''noa'',<ref name="it27092017">{{cite news|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/durga-puja-sindoor-khela-ritual-vijaya-dashami-married-hindu-women-lifest/1/1057132.html|title=Durga Puja 2017: Here's why Bengali women play with sindoor on Vijaya Dashami|last=Goswami|first=Shreya|date=27 September 2017|work=India Today|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref> the conch shell, coral and iron bangles respectively, which are worn by the married [[Bengali Hindu]] women. Then they smear each other's faces with sindur. Finally they offer sweets to each other as ''prasad''.<ref name="indiavivid"/> According to commonly held belief, if a woman plays Sindur Khela by following the proper custom, she will never be widowed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kolkata24x7.com/why-bengali-women-play-with-sindoor-on-vijaya-dashami.html|script-title=bn:বিসর্জনের আগে সিঁদুর খেলার কারণ জেনে নিন|date=30 September 2017|work=Kolkata24x7|language=bn|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref>

Sindur Khela symbolizes the power of womanhood in protecting her husband and children from all evil. Through the ritual of Sindur Khela, the Bengali Hindu women pray for long and happy married lives of each other.<ref name="toi17102010"/><ref name="ndtv"/> Family tiffs and petty quarrels between neighbours are settled through this ritual.<ref name="durgotsav.com"/> Unmarried women and widows are barred from participating in the ritual, but a recent campaign by the Calcutta Times has revived the practice of just women - be it married, widowed, transgender individuals or women of the red-light area, to play with Sindoor to show that this is a universal bonding for all women, all sisters and not restricted only to married women.<ref name="newsgram">{{cite web|url=https://www.newsgram.com/sindur-khela-the-durga-puja-vermilion-play/|title=Sindoor Khela: Bengali women play with sindoor on vijayadashami|date=29 September 2017|work=NewsGram.com|access-date=30 September 2017|location=Chicago}}</ref>

In some parts of [[West Bengal]], Sindur Khela is celebrated before [[Vijayadashami]]. In [[Dubrajpur]], the Sindur Khela is celebrated on Mahasaptami itself. After bathing the ''nabapatrika'' and the following ritual worship, sindur is applied on the forehead of the goddess. After that the married women engaged in Sindur Khela.<ref name="eisamay27092017">{{cite news|url=http://eisamay.indiatimes.com/special-coverage/durga-puja/bengali-durga-puja/strange-rituals-of-durga-puja-of-dubrajpur/articleshow/60854392.cms|script-title=bn:সপ্তমীতৈ সিঁদুর খেলেন এখানকার মহিলারা|last=Karmakar|first=Rajat|date=27 September 2017|work=Ei Samay|publisher=Bennett Coleman & Co|language=bn|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> In the village of Bijra near [[Memari]] in [[Purba Bardhaman district]], the family pujas of Ghosh and Bose family celebrate Sindur Khela on Mahastami. The tradition is almost 500 years old. After the ritual worship on Mahastami, the entire married womenfolk of the village celebrate Sindur Khela. Many people from adjoining areas came to Bijra to see this ritual.<ref name="ebela09102017">{{cite news|url=https://ebela.in/events/durga-puja/bonedi-barir-pujo/sindur-khela-in-mahashtami-in-bardhaman-dgtl-1.492789|script-title=bn:বিজয়া নয়, মহাষ্টমীতেই সিঁদুর খেলেন এখানে এয়োরা, ভিডিও দেখুন|last=Chandra|first=Patralekha|date=9 October 2016|work=Ebela|publisher=ABP Group|language=bn|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
The ritual has been criticized in the recent times for multiple reasons. The ritual has been criticized as non-inclusive in character because the participation in the ritual is strictly limited to married women only. In 2017, The Times of India initiated an Internet video campaign featuring [[Rituparna Sengupta]], that called for participation of single women, widows, divorcees, transgenders, lesbians and sex workers in Sindur Khela.<ref name="ww">{{cite web|url=http://www.womensweb.in/2017/09/sindoor-khela-video-inclusivity/|title=This New Sindoor Khela Video Gives A Powerful Call To Be More Inclusive|date=28 September 2017|work=Women's Web|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref>

The ritual has been criticized by [[Taslima Nasrin]] for being patriarchal in nature, because of the over emphasis on the married status of the goddess as well as the women.<ref name="it27092017"/> Bengali Hindu girls grow up seeing the married ladies in their family participate in the playful ritual, which creates among them a sense of life being incomplete without getting married. Critics feel that this can create a regressive impact on young women.<ref name="it27092017"/>

== In popular culture ==
Every year, the Kolkata-based celebrities including the Tollywood actresses engage in Sindur Khela at the Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty puja pandal in north central Kolkata.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.khaboronline.com/picture-gallery/celebrity-sindur-khela-at-chaltabagan-2016/|script-title=bn:ছবির গ্যালারি: সেলেবদের সিঁদুর খেলা|date=15 October 2016|work=Khabor Online|language=bn|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref> Sindur Khela is a colourful, vibrant and spectacular ritual and so it has been the focus of Indian films.<ref name="it27092017"/> Some films and soaps have been titled in the name of the ritual.

* Sindur Khela (1999), feature film
* [[Sindoorkhela]] (2010–12), television soap
* [[Ki Kore Toke Bolbo]] (2016) originally titled Sindur Khela, feature film

== See also ==
* [[Kali Puja]]
* [[Holi]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Culture of West Bengal}}

[[Category:Durga Puja]]
[[Category:Culture of West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]

Sindur Khela - Revision history

imported>Ramesh lalwani: I added image to this article #WPWP