The Changing Colours of Henna in Kashmir

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Photo by: Saba
Instagram: @mehandi_by_saba
Credits: Irshad Hussain ~The Kashmiriyat
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Irshad Hussain

Mehndi (henna) is probably the most ancient and commonly used body art in the Arabian Peninsula, Indian subcontinent, Middle East, and parts of Africa. Many women belonging to these regions have been using mehndi to adorn themselves, both on festive occasions as well as on an everyday basis.

Mehndi is a paste created from powdered dry leaves plucked from the henna plant. Usually, mehndi is packed in the form of cones, tubes, but in the past, women folk used matchsticks to apply it to the brides’ hands and feet, this included the Egyptian queen Cleopatra as well.

There are numerous designs of mehndi which vary from one geographical location to another. The designs also keep changing as per the fashion trends. Recently, Arabic designs gained a lot of currency, while at present Indo-Arabic, Indian, and Pakistani designs are popular.

Over the years, in Kashmiri culture too, mehndi art came to hold a special place. While at a time the art of mehndi designing was confined to be a leisure activity, it is now assumed as a full-time profession giving lucrative returns in Kashmir. By large, people in Kashmir believe that marriages and festive occasions like Eid are incomplete without mehndi.

Shahnaz, who presently runs a beauty parlour at Goni Khan market in the heart of Srinagar city, believes that the art of mehndi designing is becoming a part of Kashmiri culture with the advent of numerous new designs and methods.

“There is a huge flow of customers which is increasing each day. The art has successfully occupied a space in the hearts of people of Kashmir. Even in the times of pandemic, we have the same rush,” she says adding that only winter stops people from coming for this beautiful art.

The art of mehndi designing has gained such immense popularity across the length and breadth of the Kashmir valley that people here are ready to spend thousands of rupees on a design of their kind.

However, despite the art of mehndi designing creating new employment opportunities for the youth of Kashmir, the artists have to face numerous challenges in society. Take the example of Saba Jan, a student of fashion designing, who had to face many difficulties to defy the social taboos for choosing this art.

“I joined the profession in 2018. It was very challenging. People mostly criticize henna artists bypassing unbearable comments. This is still a new thing. It will take some time to get recognition in the society,” says a hopeful Saba.

According to these artists, due to the unavailability of the local professionals, many outsider males are into the vocation of mehndi designing. “We are not only defying the social challenges but there is almost a monopoly of outsiders particularly males in this profession in Kashmir which is also a big issue for us. So, I started training my friends as well to get a hold of the job for the locals,” she adds.

Amid the continuous conflict, curfews, and now a pandemic lockdown, the locals, youth, and especially the women of Kashmir face the harsh realities of employment in order to sustain a decent living. Saba Jan’s words call for people to support each other in terms of helping someone pursue their career as well as hiring locals to support the local economy and our living standards as one community.

Nuzhat Jan, one of the well-known henna artists in Srinagar, narrates the struggle she had to go through to get a nod from her family for pursuing her career in this craft. “I didn’t go to any fashion school. I learned different designs from YouTube and practiced them on blank papers. Initially, my family didn’t allow me. It was very difficult,” Nuzhat said.

In the valley, many like Nuzhat did not study in any fashion schools but they picked up the art of mehndi designing themselves as a hobby and turned it into a passion. Few women even changed careers in Kashmir to pursue their dream as well as make use of the high demand of mehndi artists in the valley.

Last year, in 2019, a mehndi workshop and competition was organized by Henna arts foundation for young mehndi artists from Kashmir. It was the first time a workshop related to mehndi was organized for mehndi artists from the valley. Such workshops and competitions should be further encouraged as they allow mehndi artists to enhance, showcase, and improve their artistic skills, as well as learn ways to move forward in their careers.

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