Adults and youngsters often ridicule rituals. Most do not know that there is a strong scientific base underlying most Zoroastrian and other religions’ rituals.
From very early childhood my sister and I had learnt this from our (formally) uneducated but deeply knowledgeable maternal grandmother.
Chalk chandan is done by Parsis using lime powder which has germicidal properties. Choona or lime powder was used in earlier times to whitewash houses annually so that the germs and grime of the year are wiped away. Chalk is an expeller of germs from our doorways.
Parsis had a ritual of doing the kusti after each visit to......