By Tashmia Zaman

When we talk about colours the first thing that comes to our mind is the colourful world around us... the blue sky...the green grass...the yellow sun... the red roses...everything.

The obsession can get crazy at times. It is more than a mere craze to be dismissed lightly, however. Color communicates to us in many ways, exerting a powerful influence on our perception of things. 'Warm' colours like reds and yellows excite and stimulate us, while 'cool' colours like blue and indigo soothe and relax us. We associate certain colours with certain emotions, like green being the color of envy, while yellow the color of cowardice.

Have you ever wondered that why you choose that particular color and what it says about your personality? Here is a list of colors that people usually like... and what we found out about their symbolisation

WHITE- White is the color of calmness and purity. White light is a combination of the seven colours of the rainbow, it denotes peace for many Hindu and Muslim communities. A Western bride wears white to symbolise her purity and innocence, while in China, Japan, and the Indian Subcontinent, white is worn in mourning, to wish peace upon the departed soul as well as on the bereaved family. Lovers of white are usually peaceful, pragmatic people. To 'show the white flag' is to provide a peace offering.

GRAY- Gray is the color of neutrality. Gray feels as though it is not coloured dark, not light a separation between two distinct entities, a demilitarised zone free from stimulus. Gray communicates an element of non-involvement or concealment. It's a color that remains uncommitted and uninvolved. People liking gray enjoy a calm environment. They are easy-going and original, and will try anything once. Gentle, relaxed, and self-assured, they are capable of being everyone's friend. They have an eye for the aesthetic and they work well with others. Although outwardly appearing self-possessed, they constantly re-appraise their own situations.

BLUE- This is the color of calmness, repose and unity, symbolically the color of sky and ocean. Looking at blue relaxes the central nervous system blood pressure, pulse and respiration rate all go down, which allows regenerative systems in the body to work on healing. When folks are ill, the physiologic need for blue actually increases! The physiologic associations with blue are those of tranquillity. The psychological associations are of contentment, gratification and being at peace.

In Iran, blue signifies something negative, in Egypt, truth; in Ghana, joy; and among the Cherokee, defeat. People who like blue enjoy a peaceful environment in which to relax and appreciate life, and have a refined sense of beauty. At work, they are capable of persisting against all odds when determined to reach a goal, being intent on establishing a personal attitudinal framework within which to accomplish those goals. To 'feel blue' is to be depressed.

RED- Physiologically, red makes blood pressure, pulse and respiration rates go up; it's an energy-expending color. Red's associations are with vitality, activity, desire, appetite and craving. Symbolically, red signifies blood, conquest, masculinity, and the flame of the human spirit. The person who favours red "wants his own activities to bring him intensity of experience and fullness of living." If you like red, you have incredible will power and you are capable of overcoming obstacles that would stop others.

In China, red signifies prosperity and rebirth and is used for festive and joyous occasions; in France and the UK, masculinity; in many African countries, blasphemy or death, and in Japan, it signifies anger or danger. To 'see red' is to lose one's temper.

VIOLET/PURPLE- A combination of red and blue, violet "attempts to unify the impulsive conquest of red and the gentler surrender of blue, becoming representative of "identification"." Purples are mystical, suggesting sensitive intimacy, union, and enchantment, the blurring of thought, desire and reality.

Violet represents a longing for wishes to be fulfilled and a desire to charm others. It is so strongly associated with the idea of the world as a magical place and the need for wish fulfillment, a preference for violet can communicate some degree of vulnerability or insecurity, perhaps a need for approval. People who are romantic often prefer violet.

Purple lovers are very spontaneous, with quick and original minds that know no boundaries.

Purple is the colour of death in Latin America, in Europe, it denotes royalty; in Egypt, virtue and faith; in Japan, grace and nobility; and in China, barbarism.

GREEN- Beyond its symbolic associations with nature and growth, green is the color of "elastic tension," often associated with the desire for improved conditions: the search for better health, a useful life, and social reform. It expresses the will in operation, firmness, constancy and persistence. It is a colour that a person who possesses or wishes to possess high levels of self-esteem responds to strongly.

Those who like green are very strong-willed and determined and can accomplish much when left alone and undisturbed. Easy-going and original, they are capable of relaxing and enjoying the finer things in life, and have an eye for art. They work hard to improve their lifestyles and to surmount the tensions involved in the struggle.

YELLOW- Where red stimulates, yellow suggests. It can elevate body rates as red does, but its effect is less stable. Yellow is primarily the color of happiness, cheerfulness, expansiveness, lack of inhibition.

It is the welcome warmth of the sun and the glow of a spiritual halo. While calming and relaxing, the color does suggest a desire for change that things are never quite at rest people who favor yellow may be very productive, but that productivity often occurs in fits and starts.

People liking yellow, are original and powerful thinkers, capable of overcoming great obstacles. They are easy-going and enjoy the finer things in life. They also have an eye for art. Searching for new ideas, methods and styles, they can be very productive when focused on a course of action.

BROWN- Symbolic of "roots," hearth, home and family security, brown is a darkened mixture of red and yellow, with reduced qualities of these colors. The impulses of brown are not as volatile as red, not as restless as yellow yet the color has subtler warm, welcoming and sensuous qualities. When brown is favored, it suggests an increased need for "physical ease and sensuous contentment, for release from … discomfort." If you like brown, you are natural and easy-going, you prefer a calm environment. Brown-philes are attracted to the outdoors. They have a refined sense of beauty. Possessing a rather conservative and well-ordered mind, they are not attracted to the bizarre. They are comfortable with your current value system, they are not entertained by fads or styles.

BLACK- It represents the absolute boundary beyond which life ceases, and so expresses the idea of nothingness, of extinction. Black is the "No" as opposed to the "Yes" of white. White and black are the two extremes, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." Those who wear a lot of black appear to others as either depressed, dangerous, or mysterious.

Black communicates a sense of power to most people. Lovers of black demand a calm environment, free of conflict and disagreement, preferring the natural to the artificial.

In Thailand black signifies old age, in Malaysia, courage; and in most Western cultures death. It's still an infallible fashion statement…when in doubt, wear black.

The world is an amalgamation of many colours, different shades and hues blending together and bleeding into each other in perfect harmony, or clashing against each other in a colourful friction. It's what makes life interesting…why would anyone want to live in black and white?