With Id around the corner, Muslim women are making a beeline for Mehendi artistes to get their hands decorated with henna. Previously, women of a family would apply henna designs on each other’s hand. Nowadays, the tradition has turned into a style statement as the demand is for the latest in mehendi designs.
In fact, a photograph of actress Priyanka Chopra that is winning likes on social media shows her wearing a blouse with heavily worked long sleeves. The wow factor is that the beautifully worked sleeves were nothing but henna painted on her arms. Many a talented mehendi artiste must be waiting to try it on one of their clients.
Although business is not brisk all around the year, mehendi artistes are in demand during engagements, weddings and corporate events. While business is usually dull during the month of Karkidakam, with Id around the corner and the Malayalam month of Chingam coming up, henna artistes are gearing up for a hectic schedule. “It’s not just Muslim or North Indian women who want henna on their hands and feet; mehendi dos as pre-wedding events are in vogue for Hindus and Christians too,” says Sumayya Sreenath, a Kannur-settled mehendi artiste, who comes down to the city to add a dash of colour to many events.
And it’s not just the brides, the bridesmaids and the bride’s family and friends get it done too. Mehendi stalls are popular as a sales gimmick in stores to draw customers.
Rajeswari S., a beautician who runs a parlour from her home in East Fort, says: “When I started out there were just a handful of beauty parlours that offered henna designing. Now although there are several parlours that offer mehendi designing in their menu, there are very few professional artistes. Most parlours outsource the artistes when they get a booking for mehendi.”
For Sumayya, Naisy Imtiaz and Reshma Farook, sheer fascination for the art, drew them to it. Sumayya loved to sketch as a kid and discovered that she had a knack for applying henna designs while helping out at her sister’s friend’s beauty parlour at Catholic Centre. Reshma was 12 years old when she started applying henna for friends and family. The software professional now does mehendi designs for her love for the art form. Naisy, who loved to draw, was taught the intricacies of applying mehendi by her aunt. Naisy runs Miaan Mehndi Designing from her home in Karamana and in Kollam.
Arya Murali, senior technical engineer at IBS, who recently got her hands painted with henna for her wedding, points out that mehendi has become a part of a bride’s ornamentation, while Faira Anzar, a new bride says: “It’s art, so, what’s not to love?”
It’s a spectrum of designs that the customers can choose from – from blossoming flowers and peacocks to musical instruments. The once popular big and small dots and swastikas have now given way to lines, swirls and circles that turn into delicate patterns and attractive designs. “Designs keep changing with time. Till recently, women wanted only their hands and, perhaps, feet painted with simple, Arabic designs, which were mostly inspired by flora. Now, they want packed, intricate patterns. Some want the designs to start from their knees to their toes and from their upper arms to their fingers. Tattoo-like designs are gaining popularity too,” says Reshma.
The Internet has been a boon for new designs and although most pictures are ‘doable’, what most customers fail to realise, say the artistes, is that not all patterns look as good on skin. “Also, some hands are small and won’t hold the entire picture,” says Rajeswari.
And it’s not just women who seek mehendi artistes. Men do too. However, for them, it’s more for mehandi-styled tattoos. “They want more macho looking designs,” says Rajeshwari, “a linked chain across their wrist, a dragon or a snake on their upper arm…”
With more and more people donning art on their skin, business is good for the artistes and it looks like mehendi is here to stay.
