Mehendi mania grips city markets as women make last-minute dash to get favourite designs crafted

Jewellery stalls set up on the eve of Karva Chauth at the Sector 22 market, women queue up to get mehendi done at Sector 19 market in Chandigarh on Saturday. (Jasbir Malhi/Jaipal Singh)

With Karva Chauth just a day away, married women as well as young girls are making a last-minute dash to get mehendi done on their hands. Keeping in mind the importance of these festivals, markets are also catering to trendy mehendi designs. In the markets of Sector 22, 17, 15 and 7 you will find several small and big mehendi stalls which have been put up. You can also go for an trendy Arabic or a Rajasthani or a Marwadi or even a special bridal design done, which will cost you between Rs 200 to 11,000.

“Getting a mehendi done on your hands and feet have become more like a fashion. It is a good thing as people at least celebrate their own culture and it helps the business as well,” says Sham Kumar, a mehendi artist of Gupta Mehendi stall in Sector 22 market. He says he has been in the profession for 20 years. He further adds that there are more than 19 artists in the stall but a night before Karwa Chauth they keep their stall open even after midnight to cater to customers.

“I have been coming here for the last three years with my friends and cousins to apply Mehendi . There is huge rush during the day before the festival and we earn a good amount of money from it. I love to apply mehendi in hands and I have been practicing it since my childhood. I know some mehendi designs like Arabic mehendi, Rajasthani and Marwari designs. We earned around 1,500 to 2,000 last year”, says Mamta Singh, a Senior Secondary School student, who has opened a stall named ‘Shagun ki mehendi’ near Shastri Market with her school friends.

Like Mamta, 17-year-old student Shalu Kumari has also come to the market to earn some extra money. “I wait for the arrival of this festival every year. Till last year, I use to sit outside the parlour with my friends in our colony to earn some extra pocket money. This year, we came in the market to earn more. Since we are not professionals, so we charge between Rs 200 to 500 depending upon the design,” says Shalu.

“I have been coming here for the last five years. And, I have seen myself change from a young student to a working woman. But it is the charm of the place which pulls me here,” says Anjali Kujur, a visitor who came to Shastri Market with her collegues to get mehendi done on her hands.