FEATURE
“ Nothing can stop me from getting these amazing tattoos done.” occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
“ I came to London from Bangladesh five months ago and before this, I thought mehndi was just popular in South Asia,” says Rifat Ara Snigdha, a student of the University of Greenwich, London, and resident of Ilford.“ But after coming here, I realised Mehndi art is not just ours anymore. It has become a part of global culture and I’ m proud of it.”
Eid is the largest religious festival for Muslims, and henna art is an inseparable part of Eid festivities in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Muslims hold on to their henna traditions even after moving to Western countries. London is known for its cultural diversity and houses the largest population of Muslims – over one and a quarter million, according to government data. One in every seven people( 14.3 %) living in London is Muslim, as per the 2019 population estimates by the Office for National Statistics. So, the sight of people flocking to the streets and shopping malls before Eid in areas like Southall, Ilford, Green Street, Upton Park, and Whitechapel is common.
Along with last-minute shopping on the day before Eid, the henna application festival in South Asian, especially Muslim populated areas, has become immensely popular. This has given some people a knack for making amazing henna designs by setting up makeshift henna art stalls. For this, amateur, seasonal, and professional henna artists bring their own small tables, a few chairs, henna tubes and cones, and other necessities from home. They set up their makeshift stalls in front of shops, train stations, on footpaths and plazas.
Sonia Sarker is a student at the University of East London. She set up her henna stall at Green Street for the first time on May 1, 2022, the day before Eid-ul-Fitr.“ It’ s a new experience for me. I don’ t have classes at the moment and I can do decent designs. So, by setting up this pop-up stall, I’ m earning some money by doing something I enjoy and also am good at,” she said.
The price range varies according to the style and length of designs, starting from £ 5 to £ 10 for each side of a hand.
This was the second year that Nadia Hassan, a housewife, was attending this henna art festival as a seasonal henna artist.
She was going to stay until 10 or 11 pm at Upton Park Plaza with her stall. Hassan already got around 35 customers from 12 pm until around 7 pm that day.“ It’ s a great seasonal income and I also love meeting new people by doing henna tattoos for them,” she said.
“ It is also beneficial for shop owners in this area, as many of them charge people fees to let them set up tables in front of their shops,” says Nusrat Sharmin, another henna artist. Sharmin sat in her stall on Green Street with one customer and two more waiting. It was her fourth year. The festivities and excitement go on even after dark, and so do the creative minds and hands of the henna artists.
Henna tattoo, with its growing popularity, is now a widespread form of art that does not belong to a few particular cultures anymore. It has become a force that unites different cultures. This art form not only portrays cultural identity, but also expresses diversity. In short, henna art is such a diversified art form that is now open to everyone.
Tanjima Elham Khandaker
ISSUE 5 SLEUTH 19