We ate dinner tonight by the pool and a woman was there to offer Mehendi. Mehendi is an art form that uses an herbal mixture containing mainly henna, eucalyptus oil and lime (no water) to decorate the body (most widely used on the hands, arms and feet of brides). The artist makes her own mixture and fills her own tubes. I had my hand adorned with the henna and found the Mehendi artist, Zaiba Nayeem, to be most fascinating!
Zaiba said that Mehendi has been her passion since she was a child. She taught herself how to do much of it but also has had formal training. She has combined the intricacies of Indian Mehendi with some of the design elements of Arabic Mehendi to create her own unique patterns. She also does custom patterns when requested. Zaiba had a book of popular patterns and showed me a few of her recent favorites on her cell phone (seems everyone we run into has one and they use them a lot).
Hindu wedding ceremonies are 2-3 day events that begin with the arrival of the Mehendi woman. Ziaba said that the children eagerly await her arrival as they love to have it done too (the other women with the bride will also have it done). When Zaiba arrives at the bride's home, everyone is quiet with anticipation. Once she begins, so does the festive atmosphere. She said she loves to be a part of the wedding celebration. Check out the movie "Monsoon Wedding" to see a fairly accurate depiction of a Hindu wedding celebration (I love that movie).
Mehendi is supposed to bring happiness to the wearer. Zaiba said her experience has also been that if you think of something you want to happen while the henna is being applied, it ends up happening.
She further explained that there are also medicinal qualities to Mehendi. The people in the villages eat henna, or the Mehendi mixture, to calm stomach upsets. The main medical use of it is to draw the extra heat out of the body. A spiritual man currently popular in India (I cannot recall his name) explains that Mehendi is a gift from God to the whole world and that it can help reduce global warming by eliminating the extra body heat.
I'm so appreciative that I had this encounter with this wonderful, gracious woman and that she shared her talent and passion with me.
~deb
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Wow Mom, I didn't know you were a blogger at heart! I'm really enjoying reading your entries, as each one is so exciting because of the knowledge that my own mother is there having such an amazing cultural experience, but also because it is exposing different pieces of the puzzle that is "India" to yourself and everyone reading the blog. What I am really looking forward to, though, is the post that will inevitably see the interaction between all of these different elements ... It's probably only a matter of time in the next six weeks before you're in the back of a three-wheeled taxi in heavy traffic at night getting a luxurious massage in preparation for your coworker's Hindu wedding when a stray cow comes up and licks the Mehendi off your hand, mistaking it for a clump of hay, in the confusion and darkness that arose in the midst of one of Bangalore's daily power outages! The heifer, upon becoming intoxicated with happiness from the Mehendi, begins to incessantly moo at you until the locals see it as a sign that you have brought peace and happiness to the cows and they adorn you with intricate flower necklaces and mixtures of sandalwood and rice. Until that happens though, keep us posted with your eye-opening reports of what you're seeing halfway around the world! Love you, stay safe, and have fun!
ReplyDeletehaha, nathan that cracked me up!
ReplyDeleteand I love the henna tattoo, mom! :)
love you, Lauren
The henna is incredibly beautiful! And you've raised a pip of a son!! I didn't realize you were so adventurous! Love reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is possible to laugh and cry at the same time ... Nathan, your post made me laugh at the pure "nathanness" of it and Lauren seeing you chime in warmed my heart, and I'm glad you like the tatoo :), but both struck a cord at just how far away I am from the people I love ... Keep posting - it reconnects my mind and heart. :) Love and miss you both!
ReplyDelete~ your momma
Hey Deb,
ReplyDeleteDITTO, DITTO, DITTO! I'm really enjoying your blog. Thank you for sharing the experience with us ... wow! And I LOVE the Mehendi ... very artistic and so very cool ... talk about being immersed into the culture! Nice!!! I do hope you are enjoying every minute of this great experience ... well, maybe except for the 12 hour work days! ;-)
Keep on BLOGGING!!! And be safe ... Joe
maybe after your ground-breaking trip Deb, everyone else will want to follow in your footsteps... i hope you continue to have a great time!
ReplyDeleteHi Deb....as others have commented, I'm loving your blog. It's so nice to read that the U.S. training team is making the best of the experience. Keep on blogging....it's very educational, insightful, and fun! cheers. judie
ReplyDelete