Mehendi Magic

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Mehendi, one of the most ancient body art finds expression on the hands and feet of women and have also succeeded to linger on to even marvel the modern moods of today's womanhood. Made up of the leaves of a plant called Lawsonia Inermis the origin of henna is sure a difficult issue to track down as the art was practiced in different parts of the world. Its history is said to have dated back as long as 5000 years but owes its frequent usage and practice to India. It is also said to have introduced in the 12th century in India during the advent of the Mughal Invasion. It had also played a significant role in the process of mummification by the Egyptians, obsessed with the preservation of their body to ensure a pleasant after life.

The style and designs of mehendi varies in accordance with the taste and culture of the people and drawn with a cone. Floral patterns, paintings and carvings were adopted in the middle eastern parts, geometrical patterns in north Africa, paisley and tear drop patterns in Pakistan and India and a mix of middle eastern and Indian style entertained this art lovers of Indonesia. A mixture of lemon juice, tea decoction and the mehendi powder forms the paste.

In India, Mehendi plays a predominant role in festivities. Forming a distinctive aspect of rituals and tradition especially during wedding, mehendi not only adorns the hands and feet of the bride but also the other women folk. The designs implemented for the bride are very intricate. With a lot of communal fun involved at the time of marriage, the groom's name is hidden artistically in the bride's palm within the intricate mehendi pattern for him to locate it, with symbolic reference of a woman's yearning to have her special him exclusively for herself. Modern days have mehendi adorning upper arms, back and also, belly. In South India the application was simple as filling the palms in a round pattern and covering the fingertips with the paste, which sets one to think about the antiquity of the practice of the art. Unlike, the Indians, the Arabians go in for well-spaced motifs.

Apart from beauty, mehendi serves as a remedy in treating skin diseases due to the presence of hennotannic acid. Mehendi is also an effective cooling agent. Are these the underlying facts that led to the creation and evolution of the art? And lastly, it is also important to play safe with application of mehendi as the adoption of various chemicals like PPD like a chemical hair dye, transdermal toxin like coal tar dye and other inky looking black paste for a fast appearance of color.

A natural mehendi paste involves about four to five hours for a good coloring and produces an orange color that evolves into dark brown or burgundy in the lapse of two to three days, where as an chemical treatment ends up with a black coloring, welcoming itching, oozing, blistering skin and other skin disorders.