Indian wedding: Mehindi function

Lunch with the whole big family: huge amounts of food keep arriving, people are helping themselves and getting served by the hosts, taking seats anywhere in the room, chatting, laughing, eating. Already full, I discover fish and prawns newly arrived. They say, home made ones (a maid of one aunt cooked it): no way to resist, you barely get it elsewhere but in the South unless you go to a good restaurant. My juicy shrimps, that’s been a long time ;o)

Things just continue happening. We get told that we are moving to some other place. After a short drive we find ourselves in a foreigners’ hostel (place-to-beeeee) which is in my understanding is a decent (“proper type”, in Hinglish version) hotel. The bride, Nivanthee and me are staying in one room. Some time to go before the evening mehindi function. It is tonight when guests (mostly female) would get together to chat, to start horrify each other with the glitter of their beautiful sarees, to look at the bride, to enjoy some food, to dance a bit… and to put on mehindy – such a pattern on hands (palms, fingers) and foot put with henna.







The technology works as follows; small tubes (cones) with henna are used to make a pattern. The latter can appear in Indian or Arabic style – abundance of patterns to choose from is available in catalogues.



It takes from some minutes to some hours to complete the pattern depending on its complexity. The henna is left until dry.





Later on a mixture of sugar water and lemon is gently put on the pattern to make sure mehindy would turn dark enough. Henna is better be kept on the hands overnight and removed in the morning with coconut oil. In fact, henna would partly vanish already in the night when you’ll rub your hands against your pillow... But coconut oil would it properly, And the patter comes like that…





They say that for the bride the darker the mehindi comes out the happier her marriage would be. Good incentive to follow the technique thoroughly.

While I’ve been captivated with all these technical details and could not take my eyes of the girl who was putting on mehindy on the arms of happy girls..






people started dancing. Nivanthee was the best as she really took initiative and cheered people to join in. Many guys were happy to dance with her,



but in my humble opinion it is with Vishnu they made up the unbeatable dancing couple.



PS. Desert. Not to forget….women are given out small presents from the bride: tiny jewelry boxed filled in with sweets. Could have anyone thought of any sweeter gesture?