Shrawan is here and all the girls (young and not so young) are out getting mehndi on their hands. Go to New Road and you will see mehndiwallahs doing some really smart business.

Many of us get our mehndi done here, but then if you should try it out at home, then here are some steps you can follow.

Mixing it all:

Take mehndi or henna powder, eucalyptus oil mehndi oil, tamarind paste (strained), sugar, tea (boiled, strained and cooled), lemon and water.

Using a tea strainer sift the henna powder. Add five drops of eucalyptus oil or mehndi oil, strained tamarind paste, two pinches of sugar and tea water to the henna powder. Mix this into a fine paste. Keep the paste covered for at least two-three hours for the dye to develop.

What’s in the cone:

Take a rectangular plastic sheet, leave 1 inch at the end of the long side and roll it to a cone with a small hole at the tip. Stick the side of the cone using a piece of adhesive tape so that the cone holds its shape. It’s ready to be used.

Designs and curves:

Using your creative mind either you can create your own designs by squeezing the tip of the cone or you can buy design books and stencils. Try simple designs first.

For the darker stain:

• Mix three tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and one drop of eucalyptus oil. Mix this well until the sugar dissolves. Apply this solution on the mehndi while it is drying (dabbing with cotton) so that the mehndi remains moist. Repeat this whenever necessary.

• After removing the mehndi, do not wash your hands for at least another 12 hours because the mehndi stain on your palms will be a very light orange in colour after you remove it. It will get darker over the next

24 hours.

• For best results, after mixing the paste, wait at least two hours before using.

• Leave the mehndi on the skin for a minimum of six hours.