TRADITION OF HENNA

Tradition of Henna (Mehendi) : Karva Chauth day

The beauty business of applying henna has never had it better than on Karva Chauth day. As women get ready for "Karva Chauth", a traditional festival when women keep fast for well-being of their husbands, everybody from the small-time Henna artists to upmarket beauty saloons are busy, creating beautiful and intricate designs on the palm and feet of married women. Henna or Mehndi, considered to be auspicious for married women, is a necessary part of the Karva Chauth ritual. Women get intricate henna designs applied on their hands before they get down to the actual rituals. Before actually applying the henna, the designers outline the pattern or design in their mind. There are several ways to do this. Most traditional henna patterns are based on very simple shapes - circles, triangles and lines are the most basic. These shapes can be combined to create a very intricate pattern and a very beautiful henna design. It is believed that married woman who get dark color from mehendi will get a loads of love and caring from her groom. It also denotes prosperity and good luck. It symbolically says as the henna gives away her color to beautify someones hands, the married woman should also be generous and kind to give up certain things to beautify the life ahead of her.