Mehendi better than tattoo ?

Getting people together is difficult, getting them together for a photograph is more difficult and if they are related to each other it’s the challenge of the day.
And if you want them all to be covered with different Henna designs at the same time then it’s the challenge of the decade.
So here I am with a top view of four pair of hands. They belong to my wife, sister, daughter and niece.
Actually it was no great feat for me as all of them are crazy about covering their hands (and feet if possible) with lovely Mehendi (Henna) designs, so they just jumped at the opportunity and this was the end result. click on the picture to see the full pic

I always marveled at the artistic talent of these skilled ladies who do their work in a jiffy, sitting for about 2 to 3 hours at a stretch silently producing design after design from their memory. They never refer any design books nor make any calculations about where to start and where to end.

As for the designs done on a bride’s hand (and feet) it is said that the groom’s name is embedded in the design (the alphabets scattered all over)
On the wedding night the groom is supposed to find all those alphabets till the complete name is formed. So the more skilled the mehendi lady is, the more the groom is going to be tormented.
Can you spot the name in the design below? This was done on a bride’s hand. I clicked about 10 or fifteen frames here and this is the best I could get.

And nothing like a smiling face to highlight the mehendi.

All said and done Mehendi is much better than a tattoo. For the simple reason its painless and will disappear in a week or so.

Its said that the more the spouse loves his wife, the more darker the mehendi gets. (so ye men make sure that your wife’s mehendi gets real dark the next day)
In India Mehendi ceremony is something that takes place on the previous day of the wedding and its fun as its an occasion to get together and have fun.

And then its also one reason to make your hubbies physically feed you as “you see I cannot pick anything with my hands, can you hold the glass for me?”

A few notes:
Do's:
Wash the area to be decorated with a good soap (one with a mud base) and water.
Mehendi should be kept for 2-3 hours till it is fully dry.
Scrape off the dry Mehendi and do not wash it with water for at least 24 hours, to ensure maximum colour.
Apply a mixture of lemon and sugar, at least twice, to the dry area.
After the tattoos are dried completely get some steam passing through cloves over the gas and apply Vicks for a good darkened color.
When the Mehendi starts fading and appears patchy, it can be removed by applying cosmetic body bleach.

Dont's :
Do not use an oily soap as this can prevent the color from setting properly.
After the mehendi is applied avoid washing the area with soap or water.
Avoid staying close to the air conditioner as it dries up the mehendi.