The Art of Henna
Henna (mehndi) is a thick paste made from ground henna
leaves. The paste is mixed together with a little eucalyptus oil, clove oil, a
few drops of lemon juice and water: which is usually boiled with a handful of
tea leaves. Every henna artist has their own recipe to mix the paste, however
these are the basic ingredients used.
Henna is applied on the skin as a temporary skin decoration,
usually the hands and the feet during weddings and other Indian festivals.
Indian weddings are full of many traditions and celebrations; henna ceremony is
one of them. A special day is dedicated when henna is applied on the hands and
feet of the bride, it usually involves lots of singing, dancing and music.
Henna is widely used as means of temporary tattoos all over
the world.
I hope a very brief introduction on henna/mehndi puts the
light traditions of henna. Below are some photographs that I took for a henna
artist (Ray of Light) for her website.
Bhupinder Ghatahora
Ghatahora Photography
https://twitter.com/Ghatahora