MEHENDI, the ancient Indian custom of beautifying oneself, is easy for the artistic minded. The intricate designs seen on the hands of the bride consists of circles and semi-circles, straight lines and hooks all coming together to form beautiful designs, said mehendi artist Aruna Neela Maharaj.

Easier said than done for it takes a lot of patience and practice. "Just do it over and over and over and it becomes a habit. You know old habits die hard," joked Maharaj. She said: "My mother kept making appointments for me to ensure that I got the practice. I did brides for free just to get the hang of it. Eventually I got better."

Now the 25-year-old grand-daughter of the late famous beautician Madame Maharaj (mother of Kama Maharaj of Sacha cosmetics) is proficient in free-hand mehendi. She has been doing it for eight years and teaching for two. She learned the art from a great aunt. Now she is part of the mother-daughter team that offers full bridal services including mehendi, make-up, hairstyling and dressing.

It is believed that the art was introduced in India during the 12th century AD, but became popular much later on. Only the rich and royals would decorate themselves with it. Eventually the use of the mehendi spread and now Indian weddings (even those seen on Indian soaps) are incomplete without the mehendi ceremony.

The mehendi is made from the henna plant which grows in dry and hot conditions. Some people even use the processed leaves as a skin conditioner to relieve rashes. It is also used as a hair dye. For the artwork on the skin, the leaves are ground and mixed with special oils to form a paste. The paste is then filled into a cone-shaped pack, with a very thin point and applied in patterns to the hands and feet. It is left to dry for several hours until it turns dark brown in colour. "The stain lasts between a week to a month, before it gradually lightens and fades away," said Maharaj.

The application of mehendi is a temporary form of skin decoration used for festival occasions like Divali and weddings. The art of decorating the hands and feet with the mehendi has been a style for thousands of years in Asia. It is known by different names in different states in India. Even in the Hindu religious text, the Ramayan, the women were encouraged to adorn themselves.

Some religious symbols are used in the

patterns for religious occasions, whereas the name of the bridegroom is drawn in the mehendi patterns of the Hindu brides' hands. Some patterns symbolise love, fertility, good luck, protection and other themes.

Within recent years, the art has become popular in Trinidad and Tobago with more and more people beautifying themselves for various festive occasions.

This Divali would be no different and mehendi artists like Maharaj would be busy. In fact, Maharaj has been teaching classes in the art. "So many people are willing to learn and I feel really proud to know I can teach an art to someone else. Still we have a lot of customers who want the mehendi for some special occasions."

Mehendi designs are done on the hands and feet, but some people also love the patterns on their arms, ankles, wrists, neck, navel or back. Some people refer to the mehendi patterns as henna tattoos.

Maharaj, who has a degree in Communications and Spanish, also works as a Health Safety Environment and Quality (HSEQ) analyst and internal communications specialist at Arcelor Mittal. But she still carries on her classes on evenings and on weekends.

She said: "Once you love doing mehendi you can't stop. It's just like an artist who cannot stop drawing. And once you understand Mehendi, it's the same thing over and over; you just need to practise to get it perfect."

Simple floral designs, leaves, geometrical shapes can also be painted by the mehendi artists. Maharaj said: "The mehendi art are a lot of hooks, circles, semi-circles, some straight lines that is drawn in a particular way to produce diverse designs to create different impacts on the eyes."

Mehendi, like other beauty products, has a shelf life.

Maharaj said: "Both powder and pre-mixed forms have a shelf life. You'd know its life is gone when the patterns do not stay."