Fatema Mehandi Arts

We run Fatema Mehandi Arts out of Shop No 5 on Anaj Mandi Road. We are right in the Lokmanya Nagar area of Indore, very close to the Anaj Mandi itself. It’s a busy spot with all the market activity around. We mainly focus on applying mehandi for weddings, festivals, or just whenever someone feels like having it done. It’s a small shop, mostly filled with cones of henna and books of different designs people can pick from. We spend a lot of time sitting on the floor or on low stools because that’s the easiest way to work on hands and feet. It takes a lot of patience and a steady hand. My sisters and I work together here. Sometimes we go to people's houses if they have a big event, but mostly people just come to the shop. It smells like henna all the time in here, which we’ve gotten used to. We don't have any big signs or posters, just our work. Some days we are just sitting waiting for someone to come by, and other days, like during Diwali or wedding season, we hardly have time to eat. It’s a bit cramped when there are more than two customers, but we make it work. We’ve been in this spot for a few years now and the local shopkeepers are all our friends. We just keep doing our designs and hope people like the way the color turns out on their skin.