It's very relaxing sitting back and watching someone applying a henna design to your hand. Henna is sold in cones, like a small thin ice cream cone, for about five rupees. The end is snipped off to create a hole through which the henna is squeezed and then the artist can apply the paste, as if icing a cake. Traditionally it is used on Brides the night before the wedding, as a goodluck symbol and their hands and feet are decorated with some complex patterns - the first letter of the Groom's name is hidden in the design and he is given the task of finding it! The longer the paste is left on, the darker the colour. It dries as a raised pattern, and drops off leaving an orange stain which darkens over the next few days into a brownish colour. It's all because of lawsone molecules migrating from the henna and bonding with the outer layers of the skin, so I'm told. The artist applying the henna design said that it was as relaxing to create the pattern as it was to be at the receiving end !
Good way to celebrate Diwali - everyone is wishing everyone 'Happy New Year' and buildings are draped from top to bottom in coloured electric lights - a mood of festivity pervades every corner. This will usher in the wedding season, from November onwards, when there will be singing and dancing and elaborate processions through town as the celebrations go on for days.
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