Red

What does the color red signify for you ... ? I have always been fascinated by the color red...right from the time I have had a sense of remembering... cant say it is my favorite color but it definitely perks me up.... its like all things which are forbidden and which needs exploring... Pallavi - 3 years old I have this friend who is a tenant in my house. Her name is Rajani. She is about 4 years old. We play together. We do almost everything together.. eating, running, etc... I also learn Bharatnatyam with her... inspired by the natyam dress she wore... Then comes a day when we star discovering color pencils and sketchpens.. I have the paper and she had the pens. She has three red sketch pens and three dark green pens. I was totally in love with the red sketch pen so much so that I asked her very politely if she could lend me for one day... she knew I coveted that and totally refused.. That got to me... I again asked her but she was adamant. I kept quiet and later on I cooly stole one red sketch pen.. when we were collecting the papers.... :) I got it and was totally in love with it.. did not eat did not sleep but went on drawing with the red sketchpen on and on... Mom and Pop thought it was strange that I was quiet.. it did not take them much to figure out what I had done.. they asked me to give it back but I did not move. They finally took it from me after promising me to get a red sketchpen and very calmly returned it to Rajani and we became friends again.. Till I saw her red shoes... ..... I brought that home very calmly... and kept admiring it.. this time i hid it under my small table.. suffice it to say that my behind was red as well from a good spanking and later I also got a pair of red shoes.. and red sketchpens... LOLOL ********************************************************************** Today be it a Ferrari or a Red leather... it still continues to fascinate me... I am at present writing in paper with red gel pen !! heheeh !! History on Red

Red is supposedly the first color percieved by Man. Brain-injured persons suffering from temporary color-blindness start to perceive red before they are able to discern any other colors. Neolithic hunter peoples considered red to be the most important color endowed with life-giving powers and thus placed red ochre into graves of their deceased. This explains funds of skeletons embedded in up to 10 kg of red powdered ochre. Neolithic cave painters ascribed magic powers to the color red. The word "magic" ("Zauber" in German) translates to "taufr" in Old Norse and is related to the Anglo-Saxon "teafor" meaning "red ochre". It can be stipulated that they painted animals in red ochre or iron oxide to conjure their fertility. Protective powers of the color red against evil influence were common belief. Objects, animals and trees were covered in red paint, warriors painted their axes and spear-catapults red to endow the weapons with magic powers. Some of the Australian aborigines abide by this custom up to the present times. Neolithic hunters and germanic warriors used to paint their weapons and even themselves in blood of slain animals. Roman gladiators drank blood of their dying adversaries to take over their strength. In other cultures, the newly born were bathed in blood of particularly strong and good looking animals.Red painted amulettes or red gems, such as ruby or garnet, were used as charms against the "evil eye". Wearing a red ruby was supposed to bring about invincibility. Red bed-clothes were customary in Germany up to the Middle Ages as protection against the "red illnesses", such as fever, rashes or even miscarriages