NEW PATTERNS OF TRADITION

New designs with mehendi are doing the rounds this wedding season. 

IF your marriage is on the cards, it will soon be on your hands. Confused? Don’t be. Mehendi artists can depict the entire wedding ritual and tradition on your hands. It's auspicious and, these days, it is art at its best. Far from being merely traditional (read, clichéd), the designs, intricacies and figures are awe -inspiring. Innovative designs are playing a major role these days. As henna artist Anmol Kala says that the need of the hour is to keep up with the latest trends and fashion. “You have to experiment with new designs and styles and give a fresh look to old ideas. We recently came up with the idea of a new style of Arabic mehendi and called modern Arabic designs. The design is not in a linear pattern, but spread out. You will find basic Arabic art form in such mehendi, but with more style and innovation.” There is a huge possibility of experimentation with Arabic designs. “Hyderabadi style, with flowers and leaves and a bit of shading, is in demand as well,” says Ruchita Tejas Surti, another mehendi artist. Indo-Arabic style, implying Arabic patterns with Indian fillings, as also Gulf style which involves a lot of petals and leaves, look very trendy and fashionable. Mehendi patterns change with every season. But, for the wedding though, it is mostly traditional. “While the baraat pattern and Jodhaa Akbar style has been going on since long but, bride on the swing, Gopis playing garba, dhol shehnai, dandiya raas, patrika, various poses of Radha Krishna, forms of Lord Ganesha and pheras, are the latest designs. They are quite a craze among mehendi lovers. However, brides do not wish to take a chance. They hesitate to experiment,” tells mehendi designer Asha Savla.

The new designs seem to have wooed the youngsters who are demanding ‘something different.’ Hence, mehendi designer Jigna Mehta came up with the idea of matching mehendi designs with outfits. “Brides are very choosy in general. And when it comes to the mehendi, they want the best. We are now working on patterns that will match the wedding outfit. The design will be made according to the border of your lehenga of the bride,” she says. While the dulha-dulhan pattern is classic, it now comes with a twist. Mehendi designers are now looking at the bride-and-groom pattern but with nature as the background. “For brides, the patterns are always special. They could even have their love story depicted on their palms. Bride behind a veil with flowers being showered on her, hasta-milaap, bride on a palanquin are some of the sought after designs, she adds. For those who want to jazz up their mehendi, artist Chandrakant Tankaria has something new to offer. “Apart from the regular black mehendi, we have zardosi styles and colour mehendi too,” he says. The cost of designs depends on the work and the neatness. A simple design can cost as little as `50 and go on till 1,000, while those with motifs and bridal mehendi could cost anywhere between 3,000 and 50,000. Those who spend that much don’t mind though. For they believe that experience of wearing mehendi is simply priceless.