Henna as a Cultural Catalyst

Mehndi is the art of body painting with henna, a paste created by crushing fresh or dried henna leaves and mixing the powder with lemon juice. When applied to the skin, henna leaves a red-orange “body art” image that lasts for about one to three weeks.

The practice of henna has been a part of the culture of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East for hundreds of years. Botanists believe that the henna plant first originated in Persia, spread to Egypt and was carried to India several centuries ago, perhaps by the Mughals.

There are three distinct trends. African Mehndi art is bold and large and consists of geometrically patterned angles. Asian mehndi is characterized by fine lacy lines, with floral patterns covering hands, forearms and feet. Middle-Eastern mehndi uses elaborate floral designs on hands and feet. African mehndi is black while Asian and Middle Eastern mehndi is usually reddish brown.
Until recently, henna was used in the U.S. mostly as a hair dye but now it is becoming popular as a dye for the skin as well. Mehndi is nothing if not exotic patterns and intricate designs. Used in wedding ceremonies, engagements, rites of passage occasions, bridal showers and distinctive parties, mehndi is safe, painless and redolent of the mystery of the East.

An ethnic club of the Evergreen Valley College in San Jose recently held a “henna fundraiser” to promote cultural events to reflect the diversity of the campus. Professors and student flocked to see firsthand how this ancient art was practiced. After only a few minutes of observation, a long line of eager and curious “henna lovers” formed on the stage.

Spanish teacher Sara Jacome had brought her class to show what the art of mehndi was all about. “I want Hispanic students to learn about other cultures,” she said. “They need to know that there are many cultures in the world. They need to understand the similarities and the differences and gain an appreciation of the world’s diversity.”
Three experts painted henna designs on the palms, arms and feet of patrons. The cost varied from five dollars to twenty, depending on the complexity of the pattern. To show their commitment to culture, teachers patiently sat through the $20 design while most students settled for the $5 variety. The president of the college dropped by to lend his support, sponsoring several delighted students for henna tattoos.
A rainy day at the campus was lit up by bright henna colors and the glowing smiles of students and faculty. With the decent sum of money raised, club members are already preparing to stage some fabulous cultural shows at the college in a few weeks.
America is in no danger of becoming a cultural desert anytime soon.

May Day Reality

I missed my exit due to heavy traffic while returning from work today. After driving in a meandering loop, I finally got on the freeway, only to see a "work in progress" at the other exit that would take me home. A policeman stood guard to make sure no stray motorist was tempted to ignore the sign.

Not my day, I sighed.

It was a long detour and the expressway was dense with traffic. Road rage is not my thing but this departure from routine agitated me. It took all of about fifteen minutes for me to finally come to the intersection from which home was more or less a straight line. Relax, I told myself.

That’s when I saw her. I have rarely seen so emaciated a woman in America. She was standing at the corner, holding up a sign that read, “Hungry and homeless. Just trying to survive.” Sitting on the pavement was her dog, panting under a sun that was still burning brightly in the late afternoon.

Normally I don’t carry much cash with me. We are, after all, progressing toward a cashless society in which our phones will soon become our wallets as well. But I had some money with me, thank God, so I called out to her and handed over what I had. I noticed that she seemed not only hungry but also in some kind of a trance, as if she wasn’t aware of what was happening to her. The dog watched her intently as she walked toward my car, wary perhaps that she might slip and fall.

Afterwards, I thought about my missed exits. Few minutes of inconvenience had led to a shattering encounter. The image of this woman crystallized for me what was happening to my country.

Today being May day, people have been busy rekindling the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. The 99 percenters are holding protests in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Jose, Oakland and other major cities. Actually it is from coast to coast and continent to continent. Protesters have massed in front of banks and other financial institutions. They have also shut down ferries, bridges, harbors, ports.

The economic situation remains grim. Almost 13 million Americans are out of work. After showing some signs of life, the recovery has begun to sputter again. Away from the enclaves of wealth and abundance, the sense of gloom and doom is palpable. As Justice Louis Brandeis put it, “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

The wealthy – the 1 percenters - apparently made a killing on Wall Street today. Their bank accounts have swelled by millions of dollars on May Day while hard-up worker-slaves are toiling to make $4-$10 dollars an hour doing meaningless and degrading “web-based” work, if they are lucky to find such jobs. Talk about irony!

Mortality rates have risen dramatically among the unemployed, as has the suicide rate. Unemployment rate now is a full 3% higher than the postwar average, and the percentage of working Americans has not been this low in 30 years.

Anton Chekhov wrote in one of his short stories: “The scoundrels are sleek and well-dressed, while honest men feed on crumbs.” But this is America, not Chekhov’s 19th-century Russia!

Tomorrow the Internet and the newspapers will be full of pictures of protesters laying siege to symbols of inequality and injustice in America. For me, though, the image of a lone woman holding up a heartbreaking sign of despair at a busy intersection in the heart of Silicon Valley summed up the immorality of what Wall Street and the banks have wrought with their greed, arrogance and outright thievery.

May the better people win.