My daughter's hands - with henna.

No, I have forgotten most of the Tamizh I have learnt. I used to be able to understand most of the common words (enough to get by on the market and enough not to get lost). It has been such a long time....at least 15 years ago. I love Tamil Nadu, so peaceful and everyone's friendly - taken as general.

Hey, thanks zralte! That was so nice of you. But really, it is just an amatuerish attempt and it was after so many years anyway. You are right about losing contact with friends and family and being reminded of them here at mylot. I have one friend here who is not very active now, but she reminds me of my grandma who is the only one alive of all my grandparents and I do go to visit her from time to time. Vellore? Tamizh nalla theriyuma? I am meeting a number of people here who are some way or the other associated with TN.

Hi Professor. I do not allow my daughter to get her hands decorated with the chemical based colour because it is not healthy and she will definitely use her hands to eat and then... It is very dangerous and god knows what they mix in that! Here in the south, the leaves are still available in some places and some people grow the plant in their houses. I used to get the leaves from my relative's house, crush them and apply that night (caps on all fingers and toes mostly) when I was little. Sleeping that night was an ordeal. It would stick to the bedspreads and clothes but the deep red coulour it gives is worth all the trouble. And for the happiness too. It is a pity that I am not able to give that experience to my daughter as it is rarely available nowadays.

Now if you could just hop on a plane and come to Australia...or if I could hop on a plane and come to your place...you could do mine too. Imagine what fun we could have...I think there would be lots of laughter.

Thanks. She thinks so too. It has already faded much and she is still showing it off to whomever she meets. And I have promised her that I will decorate her hands again when everything is gone completely.

Yes, that would be much fun. I have not met any of my friends for a long time too. We stay in the same city and still do not have the time to meet. Or maybe we should make the time to meet. One of my friends is pregnant too and your post made me think how nice it would be to meet her and spend some time with each other.

I am very glad to be a member of mylot. I have learned a lot about other countries by discussing here.

Oh, that is so very true. I have learnt people's different approach to a problem or a situation too. People from different countries have different opinions and ways of doing things and I am still amazed by some of them here. And we do keep learning more and more.

Oh, well, she is proud of her decorated hands more than anything else. Anything to make her happy. And regarding being ignorant about other cultures, marguicha, all of us are ignorant about other cultures. We might know very less about how others live around the world. It is not possible to know everything, right? No harm done.

How old is your daughter? It is really hard for a child to sit quietly for a long time. I son is 4 year old and I used to cut his hair myself, and I really find that it is so difficult to make him sit quietly for more than 1 minute, guess what, that make his hair really look bad because of he keep moving non stop.

She will be four this July. And she does fidget a lot but when I was applying this, she was surprisingly patient. And I wonder about it too. Wow! You know to cut hair? I don't and would love to learn. But here it is an expensive course and we have to shell out a minimum of Rs.25000 for a beginners certificate course. And maybe more for an advanced one. Did you learn it somewhere?

Hi yspmyl. It actually did not take much longer than expected. But since I suffer from back, shoulder and neck pain, I was not able to keep bending and sitting for long. It is especially not easy when there is a growing belly as well. I should appreciate the little one who patiently waited without running or giving me any kind of trouble till I finished. She really has some patience!

Hi simplyd. Yes, it does not cost very much. It used to be expensive some years back, but now we can get our hands and feet decorated for as little as Rs.200 to Rs500 depending on the designs. Here we mostly decorate only our palms, back of the hands and feet. Upper legs are unheard of. But times are changing and people can decorate themselves wherever they choose to I guess. Good day.

Hi Devi! I have sent you a message.Did you get it?

Yes I did. And have sent you one back.

She is fair and chubby as well. Not at all like me. Drushti eppodhum amma sutruvanga.

Sorry for the delayed reply. It is made out of henna leaves mostly but the ones which are available now have tea powder and a lot of other things as well in them. But I guess all of them would be natural and should not be harmful. I do not know how they sell it elsewhere but we do get these powders packed. We have to prepare cones using plastic papers, fill these powders mixed with water and kept aside for 4 to 5 hours inside them, seal the broad end with a cellotape and cut the sharp end very little and start making designs. Nowadays even these cones with the paste inside them are available in stores. The design stays for about a week to ten days.

Hi. I used to do intricate designs when I was younger and could spend more time sitting. It has been more than ten years since I even attempted it again. So am a little rusty and out of touch. Well, anything for my daughter. And she was very happy so nothing matters now. There are a number of books which have henna designs in them. If you have one, it will come in handy.

Hi jaiho. These are like temporary tatoos. They stay for four or five days. And fade off. Thanks for the compliment. I actually tried adding the image here but was not able to add it. Don't know why. But was able to add it in my profile and my photos. Take a look. She felt so happy and in turn made me happy. It has really been a very long time since I attempted to do any work of this kind and you should really see the work of professionals! They are awesome. Unfortunately, it takes time before it dries up and as mothers, it will be very difficult to stay still without doing any work or touching anything for at least two hours.

i can see the love and patience with it...it takes hours oh my... but really worth it..so lovely dear