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Published: November 24th 2012
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I know I promised that my next blog was going to be about different adventures in communication, but I guess that one will come next.
Today is the last Saturday before the big end-of-the term push, and the tension is palpable, especially with the upper grades. So--as I am apt to do when I feel deadlines and stress looming ahead--I intentionally took part of the day off to enjoy myself. But instead of going into Bangalore with everyone else (believe me, I'll be going into Bangalore
plenty of times in the next three weeks), I decided to stay at SB and get some mehndi.
It is almost a rite of passage for volunteers to have mehndi done for them by the students.
Mehndi is the Tamil word for the English
henna (or, really, I should be writing this vice-versa--I'm pretty sure the Tamil word came first), and is a red-brown paste that, when applied properly, dyes your skin for around 2 or 3 weeks. It is sold in cones, like those used for professional-quality frosting, to ease application and therefore allow for complex designs.
My tattoo artist was Shilpa, a seventh grader who is taking voice lessons from
Shilpa
My lovely tattoo artist. Some people say that we look alike if we wear our hair in the same style. Hopefully, I will get a picture and let you decide. me. We decided to settle in the music room, where it was quieter and not as sunny. Several other students filtered through as we went, offering advice and company. Janani, another 7th grader, played with my hair for quite some time while Shilpa worked. Janani taught me how to make my hair look longer by putting it in a high ponytail, but leaving a small clump out at the nape of the neck. That way your hair looks at least four inches longer. I asked her what would happen if I tilted my head to the side, revealing the clump of hair, and she pursed her lips like an exasperated artist and said, "You have to just...keep your head straight." Others who dropped in were very interested with my mini toolkit, which I had removed from my bag for the scissors. And others busied themselves with my music.
For those of you unfamiliar with the mehndi process, it is a long one: Applying the detail-work for just my palm took over half an hour, and then you have to let it dry. After you let it dry, you have to re-moisten the ink with sugar water (I have no
idea why). Then you have to let it dry again. And then you re-wet it. And let it dry. Eventually, you rub the paste off and the dye remains.
Of course, when you have a group of children getting the sugar, they get about five times what is needed. And, when that happens, they sacrifice themselves and eat the excess. I felt it was my duty to take on some of the burden as well, but I was at the disadvantage of having hands covered in drying mehndi. So, Thulasi, who understood how much I hate to shirk my duties, spoon-fed me my portion.
All in all, it was nice to just spend time with the students, and talk about non-school related things. After I scraped off all of the dried paste, I had to dive back into writing term exams, which are due to Lizzy tomorrow morning. But now if I find myself getting too stressed, I can distract myself for a while with Shilpa's lovely designs.
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zaiba
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mehendi in bangalore
Hi. Nice to read your blog about your mehendi/heena experience. I am a mehendi/heena artist myself and just wanted to share my website address so everybody can have a look at my wedding collections that i have created. the website address is www.mastmehendi.com . Any body interested in getting mehendi/heena done in bangalore can contact me. keep writing about your experiences. thanks.