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EAST MEETS WEST Using henna to create modern glittering body art

Ash Kumar however insists it was all karma, chance and accident that made him give up the scalpel for the cone of mehendi. At university, he sketched and doodled patterns on his books, and friends offered their hands and arms as canvas. And so began the journey.

The 28-year-old is also the owner of a henna products company, and a hair and beauty academy. His record comes from painting 96 henna arm bands in one hour in 2001, a record he himself beat in 2003 by doing 167 arm bands.

With surgeons for parents, wasn’t it difficult for him to break away and do something like applying mehendi? Wasn’t he seen as odd, wanting to do mehendi, in a woman’s world? “I still finished my degree,” he retorts.

“I have a very supportive family. It’s a risk I took, but I had the best of things pointing in the right direction,” he says. So is mehendi big in the UK because India is big or is it vice versa? “What’s made India fashionable is the culture and creativity in everything,” he offers. In the east, the approach to mehendi is traditional and so are the spots on the body on which they are applied. People tend to stick to the palms, arms, and legs. But abroad, it’s an individual statement of fashion, says Ash. It’s more of body art, and he’s done mehendi on any conceivable part of the body, he insists.

“You name it and I’ve done it,” he says. Julia Roberts is listed as one of his celebrity clients. So how did that come about? “It just happened. I was at the right place at the right time. Nothing was planned. I was at an event, and so was she. Her make-up artist came up to me and we spoke … and it happened.”

In India, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan (who got some henna art on his face for the cover of Cineblitz) have apparently experienced his expertise in henna. He’s also done the mehendi in movies such as ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ and ‘Devdas.’

He’s said to be the rage in the UK, especially at weddings . His designs, blown up to six and eight feet, are apparently on permanent display at London’s Royal Victoria and Albert Museum. He also designed a CD cover for Universal Studios on Bollywood hits. Nike has also hired him to design the 2008 summer T-shirts for the Brazilian and Indian football teams.

The only thing he responds to enthusiastically is an enquiry on the Mittal wedding. “Yes, I did the mehendi for the bride and Mrs. Mittal.” Any particular brief they gave? “Oh… they just wanted me to be as creative as I wanted to.” He did the bride’s henna to match the embroidery on her bridal trousseau.

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