have secretly been okay with people begging for invitations to my hypothetical future wedding, while lamenting out loud that my wedding is not their carnival

Lol, the hypocrisy; on one hand we want big lavish and fun weddings, a night to remember, on the other we want it to be this super holy ideal that's not some white person's carnival to enjoy. I wonder then, what does she think about all the talk among Desi circles of "Oh Punjabi weddings are so much fun?" Sorry, but the tons of booze you find there and the dancing isn't for some holy purpose or maintaining our brown identity, it's literally so that people can have fun regardless of what their background is.

last I checked, my culture was not an accessory, and it sure as hell isn’t a trend

What does this even mean? All cultures have trends and accessories. Punjabi guys getting their ears pierced was at one point a trend, now tight kurtas with cutoff sleeves are a trend in Punjab. Are they appropriating themselves too?

For all the religious significance of the bindi, is it okay if fellow brown Muslims or Sikhs wear it "just cuz it's cool?" The religious bindi is a lot different than the sparkly one you glue on, which she refers to in the article...

Brown and Indian culture is not a monolith. It is a variety of different cultures with similarities as well as general political unification. Half these types of editorials rely on a "brown pplz gotta stick together narrative," ignoring the fact that appropriation can occur within South Asia as well.

I've thought about this, and I think the "reclaim the bindi" thing isn't maybe so bad. But the reasons I've heard are just so tenuous I don't know what to think. I swear that 99% of the Desi chicks that have flaunted it only wear a bindi when they're going to a party or for the picture on their Tumblr page they needed for this hashtag. That's misappropraition of the original meaning itself, right there. This also brings us to question, how do we "own" culture? How is it "our's"? Does Punjabi culture belong to me, an ethnic Punjabi born and brought up in America, or does it belong to my cousin, born and brought up in Punjab?