A Day with Maidaku

Maidaku, Mehendi or the modern term of temporary tattoo fills a joy and excitement universally to all the girls. I believe it is one of the age old tradition or culture that is still very much in vogue among the females of all ages.

Applying Maidaku on hands used to be nearly a day’s work. First vital constituent in the process back then for me was the design. At that time, either the method of Mehendi in cone was not invented, or we were not aware of. There was a very little scope for designs that could be made with powder or with the paste made with the leaves of Maidaku plant.

I remember the standard design of a single big dot in the center of the palm and little dots surrounding it. Then there was another design of a big cross ‘X’ and with ‘V’s in between.

Mehendi in cone has revolutionized the complete concept of designs that we could do with it. Thanks to the readymade cones of today which has removed the process of making the cone at home after sieving the powder through the cotton muslin and folding the polythene in to a cone and sealing it off with safety pin after filling with the paste.

I trust people still prefer the hand made cone for weddings for obvious reasons of nothing could beat the handmade or homemade either it is a Mehendi cone or anything else.

The next thing after applying was the long wait. Waiting with hands rose so that the design won’t get disturbed and to be careful so that Mehendi won’t stain the clothes. Mind will be eager to see if the Maidaku has done its magic to turn the design into a nice orange shade but there will be constant buzzing from parents and grand parents to wait further as the more we wait the more elegant will be the color. I remember when we used to lift an inconspicuous corner of the design to sneak peak on the color it came so far.

The final satisfaction or happiness will come when you wash the hands and see the bright orange shade of the design on the palm. I remember when my mom used to be more excited than me to see the color. I could still feel the happiness and warmth of her kiss on my palms upon showing my hands to her.

Now, I am re-living that eagerness, excitement and happy smile about the whole process of Mehendi with my daughters. I believe the culture of Mehendi will linger around for the next generations too as I could see the same excitement on my daughter’s face as I used to see on my maternal grandmother while I was applying Mehendi on her palms.