The History of Mehndi - Part 2

Traditionally in India during the Moghul period mehndi used to be applied simply by just spreading the paste all over the palms of the feet and hands including the nails. Over time the application started to become decorative where instead of just spreading it all over the palm of the hand they would just put a circle in the centre of the hand and just dip the tips of the fingers in the mehndi.

Since then mehndi has been coned and refined and requires quite a lot of skill to apply. Brides nowadays demand professional looking mehndi and perfection where a simple blob won't do!

I remember the time where mehndi was introduced to the western world by a popular music artist at the time who was trying to find herself - can you guess who? Yes that's right it was Madonna. She went from discovering Judaism to discovering the art and culture of Indian henna and jewellery.

So as she brought it back with her to the U.S. the rest of us who were already introducing mehndi to our friends in school were forgotten!
But I digress...

Mehndi art designs have become so popular that nowadays they are used for decorating homes and even food items. For example it's become a trend to have mehndi art decorated on such things as candles, picture frames, jewellery boxes as well as cakes and other decorating desserts.

Mehndi will be continued to be used throughout and it's only a matter of time before it invades everyone's home.

Naqsh-e-Henna