Pawan Gupta Mehandi Ars

Pawan Gupta Mehandi Ars is right by the Jalandhar Bypass in Ludhiana. We are situated directly opposite the Krishna Hotel, so anyone coming off the highway can spot the area. Mehandi is what we do all day long, sitting on low stools and working on people's hands and feet. The smell of the henna cones is always in the air here. It’s a lot of sitting still, which can be hard on the back, but you get used to it after a few years. The traffic at the Jalandhar Bye Pass is always loud and there is a lot of dust from the trucks, but we stay tucked inside our spot. People come here when there is a wedding or a festival happening in their family. We have books full of designs, but most of the time we just draw whatever comes to mind or what the customer asks for. It takes a long time to finish a full set of hands, so we end up chatting a lot with whoever is sitting in the chair. Sometimes we have to work very fast when there is a big group waiting. The Krishna Hotel across the road is a good landmark for people who aren't from this side of town. We just keep our cones ready and wait for the next person to walk in. It’s a traditional kind of work and we’ve been doing it this way since the start.