Sindoor
Red or orange-red powder worn in the parting of the hair by many married Hindu women, by tradition.
Also: sindur, sindhoor
Sindoor is applied along the parting of the hair, starting at the forehead. In many Hindu communities, especially in North and East India and Nepal, the groom first applies it during the wedding, in a rite called sindoor daan, and a married woman then wears it daily. In Bengal, married women smear sindoor on each other on the last day of Durga Puja, the Sindur Khela. Practice varies widely by region and family.