Mehandi

Mehndi (also called Mehandi) is the traditional art of painting the hands, feet or body with a paste made from the powdered, dried leaves of the henna plant (Botanical name : Lawsonia Inermis). It stain's a usually cherry-red to brown color but this can vary with time left on and a range of other factors

You may see it written as mehandi, mehendi, mendhi, henna, al-henna, and a myriad other names and spellings. All of these words describe the same timeless art form, body painting for festive occasions. However you spell it, mehndi is pronounced meh-hen-di (with a soft, dental d sound like "thee").

Mehndi is the traditional art of henna painting in India and the Middle East.

Translating the word "henna" literally means "to become queen."

Traditional Uses
In Indian mehndi, a person applies designs traditionally to a woman's hands and feet. For particularly auspicious occasions, men apply mehndi as well. The most auspicious occasion warranting mehndi artwork is the Indian wedding, where both bride and bridegroom apply henna, as well as several members of the bridal party. Henna on any occasion symbolizes fertility. At the wedding, henna artwork additionally symbolizes the love between husband and wife, and the stain's long-lasting nature symbolizes the enduring nature of their love.

Mehndi came into use because of its cooling therapeutic effect in a hot climate, and, in India, it was also a way for a bride and groom to get to know one another before an arranged marriage. A variety of traditions underlie the use of mehndi, including wedding games and legends. For example, the groom's name is usually written somewhere within the bride's mehndi; if he cannot find his name within the intricate design, the bride is said to have the control in the marriage. Also, a dark mehndi design for both bride and groom signifies that the two will have a strong relationship. Within the past few years, mehndi has become popularized in the West by musicians and Hollywood personalities alike, and is now a quickly rising trend among women and men in world culture.

Mehndi usually lasts for at least one to two weeks. I have heard of people saying that mehndi can last from two to four weeks; however, this figure is misleading because the length mehndi will stay depends on a number of factors.

  *How often you wash your hands
  *What kind of soap you use
  *Your skin quality and heat in your body
  *Location of the mehndi on the body
  *The ingredients you add to your henna paste

Henna works by staining the outer layers of the epidermis, permanently. The reason why your stain itself is impermanent is because of a magical, mystical, mystery. Or not. Your skin exfoliates off, right? So the deeper your mehndi stains, the longer your design lasts. Thus, it is important to be aware of the contributing factors to a henna design's latency. Strong soap and hand-washing shortens the life of a henna stain because it exfoliates your skin. Therefore, after getting mehndi applied, do not wash your skin for at least twelve hours, and do not use any harsh antibacterial soaps as long as the stain remains upon your skin. If we take our exfoliation theory farther, we note the palm of one's hands exfoliates much faster than the back of the hands; thus, henna on the palm lasts less than half as long as henna on the back of the hand.

Adding essential oils adds another dimension to henna; while the oils, which contain terpenes, can increase the stain quality of the henna, they will greatly compromises the staining depth of your henna, and thus will make the stain disappear in one week rather than the normal 1-3 weeks.

Mudras

The word “mudra” is Sanskrit for “seal” or “sign,” and each mudra has a specific meaning

A gesture or position, usually of the hands, that locks and guides energy flow and reflexes to the brain. By curling, crossing, stretching and touching the fingers and hands, we can talk to the body and mind as each area of the hand reflexes to a certain part of the mind or body.

Some commonly used mudras are:

GUYAN MUDRA: The tip of the thumb touches the tip of the index finger, stimulating knowledge and ability. The index finger is symbolized by Jupiter, and the thumb represents the ego. Guyan Mudra imparts receptivity & calm.

ACTIVE GUYAN MUDRA: The first joint of the index finger is bent under the first joint of the thumb, imparting active knowledge.

SHUNI MUDRA: Tip of middle finger (symbolized by Saturn) touches the tip of the thumb, giving patience.

SURYA or RAVI MUDRA: Tip of the ring finger (symbolized by Uranus or the Sun) touches the tip of the thumb, giving energy, health and intuition.

BUDDHI MUDRA: Tip of little finger (Mercury) touches tip of thumb for clear and intuitive communication.

VENUS LOCK: Interlace fingers with left little finger on the bottom, with the right index finger on top for men and the left for women. The Venus mounds at the base of the thumbs are pressed together channeling sensuality and sexuality, and glandular balance, helping to focus and concentrate.

JUPITER MUDRA: (below right). With the the two index fingers together, the power of Jupiter, or good luck and expansion is activated. Together they focus your energy to break through barriers.

PRAYER MUDRA: Palms are pressed together, neutralizing and balancing yin & yang, for centering.

BEAR GRIP: Left palm faces out from body with thumb down, and right palm faces body, thumb up, and fingers are curled and hooked together to stimulate the heart and intensify concentration.

BUDDHA MUDRA: Right hand rests on left for men, left on right for women, palms up, thumbs tips touching each other in a receptive gesture.

Similar instruments of Ghatam

The madga is a north Indian version of the south Indian ghaṭam and is made from a very special clay. The maker sometimes adds some kind of metal or graphite dust to the clay which is responsible for the blue/gray looking and for the special sound.

The madga can be played similarly to the ghaṭam. The extreme bass volume can be produced if one hits with the flat hand the opening at the top of the instrument. The madga can be played with mallets (sticks) and there are many sounds which can be produced with this instrument. It is thinner than a ghaṭam but very stable and not as fragile as one might think.

This clay pot in Gujarat known as matka features an almost perfectly round shape and is made in many villages in and around Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Gujarat. 

The matka is used to store water and sometimes yogurt (curd) and can be used as a cooking vessel. 

When used as a musical instrument in folk music, it is known as ghaṛa and is played in a similar manner as the South Indian ghaṭam but the technique and rhythmic style is not as refined as that of Carnatic ghaṭam. 

Another difference is that the ghara is often traditionally played with metal rings on the thumbs, index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands (but players vary on how many rings and fingers are used).

 There are a few versions of this instrument. Some are made from a black clay that typically comes from a single area in Rajasthan while many others in Rajasthan and Gujarat are made from a reddish clay. A third version of the ghaṛa is made from reddish clay but features a much flatter, squat shape. Both of the red clay types can also be found highly decorated with colorfully painted designs while the black ones are usually plain and unfinished. The black ghaṛas are extremely light but very dense and have a huge sound. The shell tones ring in a bell-like fashion with much more of a sustain than the various South Indian ghaṭams (although the Mysore ghaṭam comes close). The bass tones of this instrument are very prominent. 

Since these instruments are fired at a much higher temperature for a longer time than South Indian ghaṭams, there is more consistency between instruments in terms of Western pitch. In other words, there is much less variation in the tuning when compared with ghaṭams from South India, which can range from a low B up to a high A chromatically;although there does not seem to be any indication that these instruments are constructed with tuning considerations. Other spellings for matka include mutkay and madga.

Ghatam

The ghaṭam (Sanskrit:  ghaṭam "pot", Tamil: kaṭam, Kannada:  ghaṭa, Telugu:ghaṭaṁ) is a percussion instrument used in the Carnatic music of South India. Its variant is played in Punjab and is known as gharha as is a part of Punjabi folk traditions. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga and pani mataqa ("water jug").

The ghatam is one of the most ancient percussion instruments of South India. It is a clay pot with narrow mouth. From the mouth, it slants outwards to form a ridge. Made mainly of clay backed with brass or copper filings with a small amount of iron filings, the size of the ghatam varies according to its pitch. The pitch can be slightly altered by the application of plasticize clay or water.

Although the ghaṭam is the same shape as an ordinary Indian domestic clay pot, it is made specifically to be played as an instrument. The tone of the pot must be good and the walls should be of even thickness to produce an even tone.