Haemoglobin which has as its content iron and porphyrin, colours our blood red. The heart circulates it through veins. So red is literally the colour of life. Without it, we are dead blue. Blood reflects our moods. We can be cold or hot-blooded. When we are angry, our blood boils. Medically, it raises our blood pressure. When a girl blushes, her cheeks turn crimson. Why? The hormones dilate arteries lying under the skin which makes more blood rush into them. The Hindi term khoon sawar hona pertains to a murderous mood, while the expression khoon ka rishta denotes bonds of blood. Proverbially, blood is thicker than water. Hindi movies show that khoon ka tilak is akin to praan jaaye par vachchan na jaaye. Red hair is associated with deceit and treachery as traitor Judas was raven-headed. A German maxim warns '...red-haired are untrustworthy.' A French order directs 'Salute no red-haired or bearded man…nearer than 30 feet off…'

"What do you think of Red China?" I asked a socialite. "It doesn't match with my blue dining sheet!" was the answer. Mao's Red Book was described as China's Political Bible.

Lawyers and public officials tying documents in red tape, have lead to the term 'red tape' meaning official formalities and obstructions. The expression to be ‘in the red’ implies to be in debt. Ancients had a custom of marking holidays in red ink in calendars, a practice sometimes followed today also. The term 'red letter day' pertains to an important or auspicious day. Letter boxes are invariably in red. This particular shade of red paint is commercially sold and labelled as post office red. Another shade is signal red, which originates from red lanterns, the signals at railway stations. Red traffic lights mean stop. But red light district is one containing many brothels.

As a child, my art tutor's first question was, "Which is the darkest colour?" "Black," I had promptly answered. But how wrong I was! "Red is the darkest colour. Black is only a shade of it," he had corrected me. Vibgyor, the seven colours of rainbow heralded by rain, ends with this colour. Well, red is a basic color. Scarlet, crimson, burnt sienna, terracotta, russets, maroons…are only its hues.

Red visions up Little Red Riding Hood, Marilyn Monroe's sexy red pout, Scarlett O' Hara in Gone With the Wind, Red Fort, Santa Claus in red hood n' mittens, holly, rubies, cherries, strawberries, apple cheeks, red peppers and tempting tomato soup, sauce and baked beans but beware of hazardous artificial red colors in them.