The art of Mehndi - Kolkata

Mehndi is a form of body art and temporary skin decoration from the Indian subcontinent usually drawn on hands or legs, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant. MEHNDI is an ancient form of body art that has been practiced in the Middle East, India, and parts of Africa for thousands of years. Mehndi is often viewed as a woman's practice though it has indeed been practiced by men. Mehndi is the art of applying designs to the skin through the application of pastes made with henna powder on different parts of the body. Henna was most often applied to the hands and feet. Henna was first applied as a means to cool down the body. A dot was applied to the palm of the hands and helped to cool the body.

After becoming bored with the look of the single dot on the palm, the early users of henna began to add lines and other shapes. Eventually, this elaboration became the beautiful designs we see today.