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About us

A movement built
on a single dot

World Bindi Day began with a simple question: what would happen if the whole world understood what the bindi means to the people who wear it?

Our story

It started in a living room in 2020.

A small group of friends noticed the same thing happening again and again: young people wearing the bindi without knowing its meaning, and others hesitating to wear it at all. Both came from the same gap — a story that had never been properly told.

So they told it. The first World Bindi Day was a single afternoon gathering with borrowed chairs, home-cooked food, and forty people who stayed until the lights went out.

Today the day is marked on several continents, in community halls, campuses, temples, and city squares — and the organisation behind it funds education and leadership programs year-round.

How we got here

A timeline

2020 — The first gathering

Forty people, one afternoon, one conversation about what the bindi means. The idea for an annual day is born.

2021 — The day goes public

Community partners in three cities host simultaneous celebrations. The first storytelling archive is recorded.

2022 — Education begins

Free classroom resources are published for teachers, and the first youth leadership workshop runs with 25 participants.

2023 — Registered as a non-profit

World Bindi Day becomes a 501(c)(3) organisation, with a volunteer board and published annual reporting.

2024 — Grants for women

The first round of micro-grants supports women-led cultural enterprises and community organisers.

Today — A global movement

Celebrations, chapters, and partner organisations spanning multiple countries, all working from the same four pillars.

What we believe

Values we work by

Dignity first

Culture is never a costume. We represent traditions with the respect their communities expect.

Led by community

Programs are designed with the people they serve, not for them. Local chapters make local decisions.

Open to everyone

You do not need to be from one background to take part. Understanding is the only requirement.

Teach, don't lecture

We explain the history and let people draw their own meaning from it.

Money follows mission

Every dollar raised is reported, and the majority goes directly to programs.

Joy is the method

Celebration brings people in when argument turns them away. We start with joy.

Who we are

People behind the day

A volunteer board, a small staff team, and hundreds of organisers around the world.

Join the team

Founder &
President

Dakshina Mehta

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Founder &
Vice President

Shilpi Srivastava

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The bindi is more than a tradition — it is a symbol of identity, strength, and the beauty of our shared humanity.

— World Bindi Day

A dot on the forehead carries a thousand years of story. Our work is making sure the next thousand years are written by women.

— Community message, Houston

Culture is not something we keep behind glass. It is something we wear, share, and pass on.