I am 22-years-old and I have been a mehendi artist for close to four years. My home town is a little away from Lucknow. I studied about Karnataka and Bengaluru in school, and was always fascinated by South India. I decided to become a mehendi artist as I am talented. I did a six-month course in mehendi designs in Lucknow, and came to Bengaluru with a friend. I moved here because I didn’t feel comfortable in Lucknow.
Earlier, I used to stay in Kormangala first block. Then I shifted to Koramangala fifth block. When I first came there weren’t too many mehendi artists. There were a few in Shivajinagar, Yeshwantpur and Jayanagar, but there are so many now. People come to my shop and I also do home service for weddings and parties. So I get to travel all over the city. It’s not easy to travel around, especially because of auto drivers who overcharge and sometimes, I have also faced drunkards at night.
My work day starts at 10.30 a.m. and ends at 9.30 at night. I get mehendi powder from dealers in Rajasthan and use only herbal powder. I charge between Rs. 50, and Rs.1,500. I have a catalogue from where I choose designs according to the customer’s preference. Sometimes, I like to try new designs and be innovative.
There is a craze for mehendi, irrespective of which community one belongs to. Most of the mehendi artists are from Lucknow and Gorakhpur. To be honest, I don’t see a future in this profession beyond age 30. As you age, your hands become unsteady. Also, being a mehendi artist seems like a woman’s profession. But I don’t believe in this gender divide. Times have changed. We shouldn’t think in binaries anymore. There are so many male hairstylists. There are quite a few male tattoo artists too, though I am sure there are women artists. All that matters is creativity and talent, gender doesn’t make a difference. But if you want to run a successful business, you need to practice this everyday and get better at the craft.
Bengaluru is an expensive city. After all, it’s an IT city. But it’s great to live here. I have learnt a little Kannada. I can understand the language.
