Mehndi madness

We all love a bit of mehndi, but not everyone has the courage to pick up a cone and try to do their own mehndi designs. Here, one of our guest writers gives some helpful tips and advice to boost your creative confidence.

“Mehndi has been around for so many centuries and is used so often in our culture – for weddings, parties, Eid, Diwali and every other occasion and non-occasion around. I have a bit of love-love relationship with mehndi – I’ve actually learnt to become ambidextrous with a mehndi cone, just because I want both my hands to be adorned ALL the time!

I remember from my childhood years, mehndi used to be about sitting with my Ma, cone at the ready, with my sister and I both waiting patiently for her to start applying it on our hands. She’s no trained artist but we were happy to sit for hours with our palms covered in large circles, nearly leaf-like shapes on the back of our hands, and winding vines going up our fingers – you know what I’m talking about, right?

Nowadays things have changed. People my age, don’t want to put mehndi on unless it looks ‘professional’. Even little toddlers are becoming fussy! My cousin’s 3-year-old actually wiped mehndi off her hand, stating that it didn’t look as good as the bride’s mehndi!

Here are some quick tips to get you started, so that you can get that professional look yourself! I found these really useful when I first started out.

1.  Experiment with different types of tubes/cones. Find one that’s perfect for you, There are so many different shapes and sizes of tubes and cones around these days – long ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones. It’s important that you find a size and shape that you’re comfortable with. You’re going to be holding the cone for quite some time, and the more comfortable you are, the easier the patterns will flow.

2.  Look at different but simple designs and figure out the shapes carefully. If you’re feeling hesitant, sketch the shapes on some paper first and then practice using the cone until you’re happy with what you’re doing.

3.  Practise on your own hands constantly, but also remember to practise on the hands of willing friends and family! It’s a great way to get familiar with different hands.

4.  Take pictures of your attempts at mehndi. Through time, you’ll see the improvement in your skills yourself – that’s always a real confidence booster.

5.  Enjoy it! It doesn’t always have to turn out great, so don’t be disheartened by a pattern you don’t like. Remember, we’re always learning. Plus, I’ve often found that the patterns I personally like least are usually the ones most loved by others!

Just have fun and let your creativity be free.“

© Kaynat Choudhury/Punoh, 2013