Mehndi Party

In preparation for my cousin’s big fat Indian wedding, I went to a mehndi party last night. If the wedding's going to be anything like last night was, I’m in for a good time—lots of music, dancing, eating, singing and fun. Everyone dances, the men especially. Everyone sings, passing a mic around with a drummer creating the backbeat. Everyone is encouraged to join in, and it’s such a welcoming environment that my (very white) family didn’t feel self-conscious at all about dancing and trying our best to keep up.

The party was fun, but as the best party favour of all, I got this awesome mehndi done. Here’s what the dye looks like on:

It’s drawn on using a small foil tube by a mehndi artist, who was in very high demand—she didn’t stop for the whole five hours we were there. We could choose where we wanted it, but the most popular places seem to be wrists, ankles, palms and the backs of your hands. Apparently it gets darker with heat, so if you want it really dark, you get it on the palms of your hands or insides of your wrists.

I was in awe of how the artist worked—she was just doodling essentially, filling the space with intricate swirling designs and flowers. She told me at children’s birthday parties, she does lots of Spongebob and Dora.

You leave your mehndi to dry for as long as possible (I wore mine overnight), then dab it with lemon juice and sugar to make it get darker. Then you wait more. This is a fun period, because you can’t really use your hands for anything while it’s drying, so people have to fetch you drinks and you can lay back like the queen you are. This is what it looks like after the dye comes off:

I wish I’d remembered to take photos, because I’d show you what the bride’s mehndi looked like. Very beautiful and intricate, all over both sides of her hands and the tops of her feet, and down inbetween her toes. The bride’s mehndi is meant to be a show-stopper, and how dark it goes is an indication of the love the bride’s mother-in-law has for the bride. Knowing my aunt, Jasmine will have the darkest mehndi of all.

Growing up in Brampton, I’ve always known a lot of Indian people, but I feel like partaking in this special event, getting a better sense of the culture, makes me feel much more tied to the community. It was such a joyous occasion and everyone was just out to create the most positive environment. My cousin’s wife commented on how similar the experience was to her very Scottish upbringing—after everyone’d been drinking, the singing would start and everyone would join in. Maybe it’s naïve to say, but it’s nice to see that cultures develop doing their own ways of doing the things that everyone enjoys, so even when it's foreign to you, there's a common spirit, a familiarity in new things.

I’m excited about the wedding on Friday, but for now, admiring my artful hands will just have to do.