|
Henna colouring, the traditional Indian body art, indulged during weddings and special occasions has now become a fashion statement for the trendy, finds Anju Munshi
Are you going to get a new look this festive season? Bold colours, latest designs, deep necks, short lengths? Or would you rather have your arms decorated with oriental designs in henna and crystals, pierce your belly button , tattoo dragons and henna motifs on your back and landscape nails? Take your pick!
The buzz word today is to look young and be noticed. Even though we are marching ahead with our new friends Botox ,collagen ,liposuction and rhinoplasty ouch! , names of the new corrective and enhancing techniques, something within us is going back in times with an urge to associate with the ritualistic and the primitive. Perhaps this explains the entry of Henna as a key player in today's fashion world –it lends drama and mystique and is fashionable. Henna, popularly called mehndi, is seen as giving an extra dimension to our presence, making the ordinary seem special, and the special, extraordinary.
It has rolled down the years as a symbol of tradition, festivity and rituals and today in its reincarnated form, makes a strong fashion statement. In a similar manner tattooing, an ancient ritual with tribal communities has also been reinvented for its mystical properties. Top it all with landscaped nails, and the makeover is complete.
Gone are the days when henna was just a family function for weddings and some festivals like teej and karvachauth . Today mehndi has become a versatile wedding statement not only for the bride but also for her guests and is accompanied by stage performances, attending DJs and other theatrics. The henna designers and creative artists who work with the parlours and nail bars are overwhelmed with this ever changing, unpredictable and always-on-the-go fashion world that we live in ,where designs and style get redefined every hour. Out goes the ordinary and in its place are innovative designs , sometimes hovering on the bizarre.
Deepak, who runs 'Deepak Mehndi', a well known mehndi outlet of Kolkata, finds the mehndi market booming with every wedding that takes place and says that there are many innovations today using coloured mehndi, the colour being darker than usual, sequin mehndi, tattoo mehndi, mehndi with glitter etc. "Today it is not only the hands, but almost the whole body that gets henna motifs. It is the full arms, back of the hands, waist, naval and the back too. Come to the lower limbs and from the feet it goes up right up to the ankles and the legs," says Deepak.
For the bride there is a typical design which is intricate in nature and has standard motifs; writing names of the bride and the bridegroom , drawing intricate motifs where fish figures prominently as a good omen, landscapes etc. If your dil demands more , try by sticking in small crystal pieces. It does look beautiful! Tattoo is not the painful piercing needle but an improvisation with henna by adding colour and also glitter . This tattoo mehndi is applied very intricately with hands and for short cuts with stickers, around the naval and behind the back above the choli knot. The orient rules in designs. This sure would have raised eyebrows some years ago but is accepted today as a conscientious attempt to look good.
The dulhan variety with dulha dulhan costs Rs. 2,100 for both hands stretching right upto the arms and both feet right upto the ankles. 'Arabian mehndi', especially for the guests which is like an outline with one motif in the centre , costs Rs. 100 only. 'Tattoo mehndi', a rage today costs Rs. 1,100 .
And don't forget the mehndi walis. They do have to go for a month-long certificate course, says Bindiya Sharma who runs a parlour in Garia area of Kolkata. Remember the Bacchan wedding? where the media went into a frenzy trying to get the viewers one split second glimpse of the couple’s mehndi ceremony and instead the cameras went berserk, flashing on and talking to the mehndiwalis , getting them instant stardom.
Henna denotes a note of celebration that goes beyond a wedding. Come the pujas in Bengal , teej and karvachauth in Uttar Pradesh or Janamashtami in the north, the marketing savvy retailers immediately go for promotional schemes which offer free mehndi and bangles with every purchase.
Tourists who come to India have to get a henna session and one odd tattoo on their backs and even young girls’ birthday parties today have nail painting and henna as part of the return presents!
Body detailing is the global buzz. Like henna and tattoo this too requires a set of deft fingers , an observant eye, clever balance of colours and patience. Bridgette Jones' 'Fashion Salon' in Kolkata houses a nail station which offers a touch of luxury with hand-painted nail art, bio-gel nails, pearl finish nails and half moon for the tips of the nails. Bridgette has an amazing array of nail art forms. Lack of time? She suggests stickers that serve as nail tattoos with separate designs that adorn the tips . At Bridgette's it is Rs.100 per nail including manicures and in all, it costs Rs 1000/- for two hands all done within half an hour. The effect lasts for good two weeks, more so if it is covered water-resistant base gel every third day.
Vinita Francis, who works at a computer nail bar at Nik Nish, an outlet for knick-knacks in Kolkata, designs nails for her clients on the computer finds her job interesting. "Women love going for butterflies and men for scorpions and dragons" she says.
Not all young people follow the trend. Aishwarya Padmanathan, a senior class school student, for example, who says, "I am not a nail and henna freak and would hate to have them painted in this fashion.” Srilekha Roy, a college student, finds it “the right thing for night wear for discos and at times when you want to splurge and feel special."
Henna has indeed stepped out from traditional wedding rituals to the high fashion street today.
|
){kind=link}