Saturday, March 1, 2008

Srividya's Mehendi Ceremony

On Friday, Priya and I went to Srividya’s house to participate in her mehendi ceremony. This is a ceremony in which a mehendi artist draws beautiful and unbelieveably intricate patterns on a bride’s hands, forearms, and feet with henna paste using a fine-tipped “pen.” If I had grown up Indian and were getting married – this would be one of the most fun parts of getting ready!

When I was 16 in Hilo, Hawaii and dreaming of my first tattoo (and my scheme for getting off of the island!) – my best friend gave me a henna tattoo set and although I looked through the pages of the instruction and design book thousands of times, I never actually managed to commit to one because they were all so beautiful.

I was still teetering on illness and had to leave the Taj Deccan by 2 pm because my Oracle-paid stay had ended, so I picked Priya up at RMS and we headed to Srividya’s house in Miyapur, a suburb of Hyderabad, to stay at her house until my room at the wedding hotel, the Pearls Inn, ready later that night.

Srividya’s family had caterered an elaborate meal for the day – and I was just CRAZED because I was unable to partake in it with the gusto that I would usually approach such a once-in-a-lifetime meal. I nibbled on a garbanzo fritter with curd and some plain rice, which were very yummy! Her family also so graciously gave me lime water - water, lime juice, sugar, and salt – to help rehydrate me.

I primarily laid flat on my back in Srividya’s bedroom – but I managed to get up a few times in almost a complete stupor to take some photos and get a quick mehendi myself.

Here is the ultra-modern elegant bride on her cell phone getting a mehendi:

The mehendi artists did so much of her work from memory, with a rough guide on paper. She did Srividya’s hands, forearms, and feet, as well as the hands of at least 10 other female family members and friends in Srividya’s lovely wedding party.

Srividya’s mehendi work took about 3 hours to complete and was absolutely gorgeous! And it smelled so sweet in the end, because they put a sugar and lemon solution on it when the design is done to darken it. Teja told me that the darker the design is on the palm of the bride’s hands – the better her husband will be!

Once it is applied, you wait several hours for it to dry before rubbing it off.

Here is Srividya’s beautiful neice Aditi, in front of a wedding puja prepared in Srividya's home:
Thank you so much to Srividya’s family for opening their home and this ceremony to me!

2 comments:

Yvette said...

I was scheming to get out of here, too! Somehow, though, I ended up BACK here. Blargh! Now I must scheme again and hopefully not boomerang back.

I've always loved henna designs - they're so beautiful and intricate! Did she get her husband's name (or was it the word for love? I can never remember.) worked into her designs so that her husband can look for it on their wedding night? :D

JulieB said...

What fun -- at least for everyone else (maybe less so for you lying horizontal back in Srividya's bedroom!)

I've been waiting to see pictures and hear all about the wedding ceremony from anyone who was there. Your post is the first bit of news on it.

My best wishes for a lifetime of happiness and love to the newly married couple, Srividya and Rohit. Can't wait to see them both back here in a couple weeks! -- Julie