“Dad loves my Indian tattoo because it only lasts a few days” resounded a young Indian girl. Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is a flowering plant that produces a dye that temporary stains the skin, hair, fingernail and more. It’s what Indians have been using for centuries to tattoo themselves. It’s organic, safe and you can get a new tattoo design when you are tired of looking at the old one.
A morning stroll through a few of the back streets in north Delhi brought me across a Henna artist. Seated on a low plastic stool across from a colorfully clad lady he was, with the precision of a surgeon, skillfully adorning her arms with the most intricate designs. “Best price for you, sir” he says to me. “Don’t go to the other guy. He says he use many colors. But actually Henna only have two colors, brown and black. You see me, sir, I give you best price”. I declined his good offer but sat and watched him work his magic.
