Monday, September 29, 2008

Bollywood in DC

So my friend Sudha (from Church) sent us an invite to her son's wedding last year, which was in India.  Needless to say, we didn't make it.  This summer, they were kind enough to invite us to the state-side festivities: the "anniversary party".  I think it's a great idea--have a far-flung wedding, then invite all the friends & family that couldn't make it to a huge party a year later.  As a bride, you'd actually enjoy it!

Then Sudha invited to me to a ceremony that's traditionally held the night before the wedding, called Mehndi.  The women all get together & have henna applied to the palms of their hands, and the bride's designs stretch from fingertip to elbow.  The bride's feet and calves can be decorated too, but since this was not the real wedding, they didn't go that far.  It was fun to meet the bride and groom (Neha and Kart), and some of their friends and family.  

 
The henna goes on like frosting from little tubes, and you have to leave it on for six hours before you wash it off.  It takes awhile to set, so everyone was walking around the suite with their hands in "arrest" mode.  All of the bride's family kept offering to feed her; it was really cute.  The henna artist did the backs of my hands because she thought it would last longer there.  So a little non-traditional, but I loved looking at them.  My neighbor had gone to India for her sister's wedding & warned me her henna stayed for months (!).  Luckily, the state-side version is watered down.  Mine lasted a little more than a week.  It might have lasted longer, but I was paranoid of it breaking up in the night and staining my sheets, so I scraped it off with a butter knife before I went to bed.  It hurt!!

Sudha and her d-i-l Neha.

Sudha's palms are hennaed v. the backs of my hands.  The black is the dye; when it comes off, the markings are brown.


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