Importance Of Mehendi In Our Wedding Rituals

That beautiful scenic setting, all the bridesmaids dressed in colour combination clothes, the smell of the freshly prepared henna, flower jewellery and dance performances; this is how a typical mehendi function looks like.

Mehendi is a very important ritual in our Indian wedding and it brings together all the females of the house. Mehendi, also known as henna is a paste applied on hands associated with positive spirits and good luck. There are tons of designs and motifs from which you can choose. The ceremony takes place before the night of the wedding and it is a way of wishing the bride good luck and prosperity for her new beginning.  According to the ceremony, the grooms are also supposed to apply a little henna as part of the ritual.

The art of mehendi is the oldest form of body art and it dates back to the Vedic age. The paste is prepared from the leaves of the henna plant found in tropical climates of the Indian sub-continent. It represents the holy bond of matrimony and signifies love and affection between the bride and groom and their families and is an important part of the shringaar of the bride.  As said by our Dadi’s and Nani’s, the darker the colour of the mehendi, the more the groom loves the bride.

It is an auspicious occasion for both the families and their relatives and everyone enjoys the celebrations.

Apart from being a token of good luck, mehendi also has some great medicinal properties which we still don’t know about. It is a great herbal paste for providing a cooling effect to the bride and groom so that they can de-stress from the commotion and hectic schedule of the wedding preparations. It is applied on both hands and feet as a means of cooling the nerve-endings of the body. It is also said to protect the bride and groom from the viral diseases in earlier times.

The mehendi ceremony adds more fun and colour to the wedding and also represents a great cultural significance of our Indian society.