Page 29 - Seniorstoday February 2022 Issue
P. 29
Spotlight
Mehendi Laga Ke
Rakhna
This decorative art is eclectic, imaginative, offering something for everyone,
wrties Vandana Kanoria
Olive green paste drips carefully from the deep orange-red colour and intricate
orange stained fingers of a lady in ghungat. patterns on the hands, arms, legs, and feet.
The curls and swirls taking a life of their The exact origins of this ancient art aren’t
own, form intricate patterns on my palm. clear. Some argue the first people to use
In the background, the women are singing henna were the ancient Egyptians. Studies of
Marwari wedding songs on Mehendi mummies dating back to 1200 BC show that
loudly and with great gusto, but completely henna was used on the hair and nails of the
tunelessly. The wedding festivities have pharaohs. It is also believed that, Cleopatra
begun! used henna to paint her body.
French fries, kachori saag, are fed to us by Others claim India was the place of origin,
the loving hands of mothers, as we sit rapt where mehendi was used even before the
watching our palms become works of art. Vedic Age. The word ‘mehendi’ comes from
The air is redolent with the fragrance of a Sanskrit word, ‘mendhika’, which refers
mehendi or henna. Mom is in great demand directly to the henna plant itself. Later
by those assembled, because, with her Indian texts describe it as a part of Solah
great artistic flair she can paint even more Shringar or the16 adornments.
intricate patterns using a sharpened pencil It is thought to have evolved from desert
dipped in the mehendi paste…. communities, who discovered that they
Mehendi, perhaps the oldest form of body could cool themselves by applying paste
art in which the artist’s own body becomes made from henna plants to their hands
the “canvas”, dates back to the days of and feet. It wasn’t long before they started
prehistoric art associated with a distinctive painting decorative patterns.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #32 | FEBRUARY 2022 29
