HI Mango Smilers --Welcome to my Culture Corner once again, and sorry to have been on vacation the last couple of issues! This time I would like to take you to the colourful world of MEHANDI !

Mehandi is an ancient form of body painting for women that came through the Islamic world before finally being introduced into India. It is usually done on the palms. You may see Mehandi written in various ways but all these words (in various languages) come from the word henna, which is the natural dye used to decorate the body.

In India, Mehandi originated from the tribal people of Rajasthan. They picked up the leaves of the henna plant which had the quality of giving a brownish colour to the skin. The leaves were collected, then made into a paste and applied on the palms. As time passed, lime juice, tea water, plain water were also added to the paste to make the colour last longer. The paste is put into a cone with a small point so that intricate designs can be drawn on the skin. A special type of "Mehandi oil" is first applied on the palms before the designs are painted over the oiled palms. This oil helps to retain the colour of the Mehandi.

Earlier, Mehandi had been applied on the hands up to the elbows during weddings and other special events. More recently Mehandi has become very popular all over again, as it was brought on the ramp by fashion designers. On the ramp, Mehandi is used on the legs, on the navel, face, etc. It is used on any part of the body the designer wants to highlight.

Usually Mehandi is of a brownish colour but recently some new types of Mehandi have been invented. There are of many colours like blue, red, black and even some glittery colours can now be found. Some of the newer types of Mehandi are not completely made of natural ingredients and may not be very safe to use often. The original Mehandi retains its colour for about 10 - 12 days, then slowly starts to fade.

In some religions of India there is a Mehandi Rasam for the bride before the wedding. In this function, Mehandi is applied on the bride's hands, legs, back, etc. for the wedding. Sometimes the bridegroom's name is also written on the palm of the bride. The name is accommodated in between the designs on the bride's palm.

As I mentioned above, Mehandi is an ancient art form so there is a lot of history behind it. Nowadays you can get Mehandi done on your palm by people on the street or at fairs who use wooden blocks to print the design onto the skin very quickly. That's a lot of fun too. This my short introduction to Mehandi, I hope you enjoyed it. Keep Mango Smiling til we meet the next time!

- Mini Chatterjee, Age 16