Sowmya, Patty's sister-in-law (and so ours as well, I think), very kindly offered to do some henna for my cousin Maria, Patty, and me. It was actually her first time to do it herself, as her mother, Latha, usually does it. She was amazing at it from moment one!
For those of you who don't know, henna is a dye made from henna trees. It is applied by squeezing out thin lines of paste, which is left on the skin for up to 12 hours to dry and soak in, and then washed off. The result is rich brown-red stains in amazing patterns. Sowmya explained to us that in her region of India, they mostly do henna on special occasions or celebrations, and usually on the palm of the hand.
Maria and I both had a turn doing some on her hand/wrist, before the expert took over.
This was mine after washing off the paste. Sowmya and Latha explained that it gets so much darker on the palm because your pores are more open there, and also because when you sweat, it helps darken the dye.
This was Maria's. She did the back of her hand because she had to drive us to Grandma's house right after we were finished. Also, can I point out the that small flower right in the middle of her hand, as well as the side-view flower near the base of her thumb were my contribution? I was really proud until I saw Sowmya's bold, sweeping designs and realized I'd been rather missing the point. But still, they're pretty!
This was Patty's. You can see the hand-wrist change in hers as well.
One other very generous thing they did (among many) was to let me wear a sari for an evening party we had. They wrapped and tucked and pinned it around me with amazing skill, and I don't think I've ever felt so fancy in my entire life!
They also brought this sari as a present for my mom, their new mother-in-law. It is totally stunning as well and Mom really enjoyed wearing it.
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