Mehendi (Lawsonia inermis) is a small tropical shrub, whose leaves when dried and ground into a paste, give out a rusty-red pigment, suitable for making intricate designs on the palms and feet. The dye has a cooling property, and no side effects on the skin. Mehendi is extremely suitable for creating intricate patterns on various parts of the body, and a painless alternative to permanent tattoos.
Weddings being the most important day in one’s life, mehndi has become an ornament for the soon to be brides. There is, in fact, one whole ceremony dedicated to its celebration popularly known as ‘Mehndi Ceremony’ or ‘Mehndi Ki Raat’. Besides this, the phrase ‘Haath Peele Karna’ as often heard from elders of the family is a rasam of mehndi directly synonymous to marriage. This significance maybe attributed to symbolic meaning of mehndi i.e. fertility.
Mehndi Ceremony is among the pre wedding rituals in Indian weddings performed a day prior to the marriage. Just as Haldi ceremony symbolizes cleanliness, mehndi signifies beautification. Mehndi-Ki-Raat is usually a private affair with close relatives, friends and family members, celebrated amidst lot of dancing and feasting. This ritual is often combined with Sangeet ceremony and so is primarily a women’s function. The atmosphere is imbued with dholak beats and singing of traditional songs while mehndi is applied on bride’s hands and legs by mehndi experts. The bride’s mehndi interweaves the name of her would be husband and he is expected to find his name in the pattern. The female relatives of the family also apply mehndi on their palms to take part in the celebrations. This ceremony is performed by families of both the Indian bride and the Indian groom.
Importance Of Mehendi For Married Women
Henna is typically applied during special occasions like weddings and festivals. This bridal mehndi is usually applied on the bride a day before the wedding. This is organized as a part of the wedding function where professional mehndi designers will be invited to apply mehndi to the bride's hands, arms, feet and legs. In addition to this, the guests and relatives can have their hands or legs filled with mehndi to become a part of the wedding celebrations.
‘Karva Chauth’, a traditional festival when women keep fast for well-being of their husbands, everybody from the small-time Henna artists to upmarket beauty saloons are busy creating beautiful and intricate designs on the palm and feet of married women.
It is believed that married woman who get dark colour from mehendi will get a loads of love and caring from her groom. It also denotes prosperity and good luck. It symbolically says as the henna gives away her colour to beautify someone's hands, the married woman should also be generous and kind to give up certain things to beautify the life ahead of her.
Some tips
Wash the area to be decorated with a good soap and water.
Mehndi should be kept for around 3 hours.
Apply a mixture of lemon and sugar to the dry area.
Scrape off the dry Mehndi and do not wash it with water for at least 12 hours, to ensure maximum color.
After the tattoos are dried completely get some steam passing through cloves over the gas and apply Vicks for a good darkened color. A deep color may last up to two to three weeks. The coloration varies from person to person.
When the Mehndi starts fading and appears patchy, it can be removed by applying cosmetic body bleach.
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