Mehndi Madness

What a gift we received yesterday! My CSC READ India colleagues and I were interested in checking out traditional mehndi art, popularly known outside of India as henna tattoos. Unfortunately, we were running out of time to get to one of the recommended shops. With only a few days left in India, it was looking like we would have to board our planes mehndi-free.

But READ India to the rescue! (They are beyond generous with their time and attention to us -- not just in our partnership to get our work done together, but in looking after us to make sure we have a good stay in India.)

Shashi, the lead beauty instructor from one of the nearby READ enters, came to the office with two young women to do mehndi for us right in the office after work!

Borrowing from Wikipedia, "Mehndi or mehendi is a form of body art from Ancient India, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis). Ancient in origin, mehndi is still a popular form of body art among the women of the Indian Subcontinent, Africa and the Middle East... Mehndi in Indian tradition is typically applied during special Hindu weddings and Hindu festivals. In Hindu festivals, many women have Henna applied to their hands and feet and sometimes on the back of their shoulders too, as men have it applied on their arms, legs, back, and chest."

The ladies drew the designs free-hand using a henna ink cone that sort of reminded me of a icing tube for cake decorating. I am so impressed by their talent and steady hands! And I so appreciate that they went out of their way to come to the office for us.

Check out their beautiful work!

And GO!

Waiting for it to dry - you cannot imagine how hard it was not to pick at the ink as it dried!

Wish every work day ended like this!