Why Mehndi Design is an Indispensable part of any Festivity?

Be it a wedding or Karva Chauth, mehndi remains a very significant part of Hindu rituals. It’s not merely an embellishment but a “tradition”. To start off with – let us tell you that mehndi is an important pre-wedding ceremony, whereby an entire day is dedicated to an episode of fun, revelry, song and dance with the mehndi being applied on the bride’s as well as her friends and relatives’ hands. In fact, the bride adorns herself with the stunning designs of henna on both her arms and legs.

Mehndi: Not only for brides!

Even the groom applies a bit of mehndi both on his arms and feet and the entire Mehndi ceremony is generally remembered as a toast to friendship and to every other bond that the bride and the groom goes on to forge in their lives. However, it should be noted that “mehndi” is not only about fun, frolic and adornments. It has deep-rooted cultural significance as well.

First of all, mehndi is regarded as auspicious. That’s why whereas even though it’s the girls who love applying mehndi on diverse occasions-- during weddings, the grooms also add touches of henna as has been mentioned above– just as a token of good omen. 

Indian Bride with beautiful Mehndi Design

Mehndi, for many, is the manifestation of the bond shared by the bride and the groom as well. Often dubbed as “shagun” or the sign of good luck, mehndi is associated with variant beliefs – a few of which are mentioned below:

• Mehndi remains one of the oldest wedding rituals in some parts of India and countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. It is believed that darker the colour of mehndi appears on the bride’s hands, the deeper would be the bond shared by the couple. Likewise, if the color fails to assume a fairly dark shape, the elders of the family often end up fearing an “apshagun” or bad luck.
• It is also believed that the longer the mehndi retains its hue, the stronger the bond will be – between the two.
• The hue of henna is also regarded as a sign of understanding between the bride and her would-be-mother-in-law
• What more? This beautiful art of adorning brides is also treated as the symbolic representation of fertility.

Other significant benefits to be considered

The medicinal value of henna cannot be undermined as well. It is traditionally known to soothe a stressed mind, fever and headache. Plus, it promotes the growth of nails as well. Mehndi is applied to relieve the bride and the groom of their stress during their wedding. We all understand that wedding is a bond of a life time which is immediately associable with love plus a host of responsibilities that the husband and wife have for each other. We also understand that a wedding is as much as about nerves as it is about the excitement to experience the joy of new beginnings. So, the “stress relief” attribute of mehndi does have a crucial role to play here.

As is the case with any tradition, “mehndi”- rather its designs have evolved over time as well. The modern day brides have a growing tendency towards opting for more clutter-free minimalistic designs as against the more intricate designs of the past.

Brides-to-be, who are yet to zero in on the mehndi design for the D-Day can refer to the internet in order to be duly guided in this regard. Make sure you are browsing through the designs and selecting one of them- so that when the mehndi designer finally comes to your place, you are clear on your head as to what you want. You can select from among old or new trends as per your choice.