major international beauty fixtures of today borrow heavily from ancient indian rituals and techniques kasmin fernandes tells you how a bindi here or a nath there can lend you individuality in an age of clones whether in hairstyles makeup or skincare the ideas and ingredients that our ancestors passed on are finding takers all over the world while hollywood alisters and international models cant get enough of the nathni bindi and mehndi desi skincare ingredients like sandalwood neem and coconut oil are being hailed as miracle workers in hair and skin products here are a few beauty gems that the world is mining from the rich treasures of ancient indiabindi in the pastwomen wore a red dot on the centre of the forehead for decoration however the bindi has deeper significance too the area between the eyebrows symbolises the ajna chakra seat of wisdom making the bindi a mark of intellectual worshipnew avatar the bindi has evolved into a cosmetic item in myriad colours and styles it became a rage in the west during the 90s popularised by rock singers gwen stefani and bjrk and made a comeback on the red carpet this year mainly on the foreheads of singers katy perry and selena gomeztip experiment with metallic mirror work and jewel tone bindis on your forehead to give a pop twist to your jeansandtee combinationmehndi in the past wearing mehndi designs on the palms and feet is an ancient vedic custom meant to represent the outer and inner sun element in a human being this explains why the sun is a popular symbol in mehndi designs new avatar america and europe have embraced mehndi as henna tattoos a natural and temporary form of body arttip make a statement by taking mehndi out of its traditional setting for your next big party wear a henna tattoo in a tribal african or warli design on your arms instead of your palmskajal in the past long before sunglasses came along women in india applied homemade kajal to their eyes to protect them from the suns harsh rays repel flies and as a coolantnew avatar kohl liner has become an essential part of a womans makeup todaytip give a fierce twist to the retro winged look with the dotted cateye similar to the eye makeup at the anna sui show in new york fashion week use a thick black kohl pencil to line your upper eyelid extending upwards and beyond the outer corners instead of lining your lower lid press the kohl pencil lightly in the centre to create a striking dot and you have a 60s hippie look with a contemporary edgenath and nathni in the past ornate nose jewellery in the form of the nath and the nathni which extends from nose to ear was practically mandatory for married indian women especially in rural indianew avatar indiaborn designer ashish gupta showcased naths on his models at a show in london while french label givenchy featured nose hoops at a