Colour calling!

A pallet of bright images that open the door of memories is what this festival is like. It is Holi, the season to colour and get coloured. Colour…a very bright feeling. Ever wondered how would life be without it?

Colours are one of the many things that play a part in our daily lives. But what most people do not realise is just how big a role colour plays on our lives on a more personal level. Bright colours portray happiness and excitement, dark colours are more somber and sad and those in between trigger all kinds of activity within a person's mind and body. From what we know, the primary colours are, red, yellow and blue. Followed by secondary colours and then more complex colour mixtures including green, purple, orange, black, grey and white.

From what research has shown, Red is an extremely intense colour. It expresses passion and draws attention to itself, positive and negative and it has also been known to cause a rise in a person's blood pressure. Yellow carries both positive and negative connotations — from sunshine, which conveys a joyous, happy mood to jaundice and sickliness. Blue is the most popular colour, it is calming and nice and shows to lower blood pressure. Green reminds us of nature and tranquility. Purple represents royalty. Orange is often very friendly and white is the colour of cleanliness and purity. On the darker side of the spectrum is black, which we see as depressing and bold and even grey that can make one have a feeling of loss and sadness.

While researching the subject, here is an interesting observation on a colour which has an impact on my life. While the colour red is often described as threatening, arousing or exciting, many previous studies on the impact of the colour red have been largely inconclusive. The study found, however, that exposing students to the colour red prior to an exam has been shown to have a negative impact on test performance.

In the first of the six experiments described in the study, 71 colleges students were presented with a participant number coloured either red, green or black prior to taking a five-minute test. The results revealed that students who were presented with the red number before taking the test scored more than 20 per cent lower than those presented with the green and black numbers.

While blue is one of the most popular colours it is one of the least appetising. Blue food is rare in nature. Food researchers say that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, which were often blue, black, or purple. When food dyed blue is served to study subjects, they lose appetite.

Green, brown, and red are the most popular food colours. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant.

The festival of colours will leave to come. Let us ensure to paint the canvas of each other's lives with the true colours of compassion, care and honesty.