“Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books. Haldi (Staining oneself with turmeric paste) as well as mehndi are important Vedic customs as a symbolic representation of the Outer and the Inner Sun. Vedic customs are meant to awaken the “inner light” and so the gold of the inner Sun has an important symbolic function”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Application of henna or “Mehndi” to a girls hand in a market on October 18, 2010 in Jaipur, India. (Photo by Simon de Trey-White/Getty Images)

Where Children Sleep – stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms by James Mollison. This is a selection from the 56 diptychs in the book (Chris Boot November 2010). The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds‘ intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience.

Where Children Sleep – stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms by James Mollison. This is a selection from the 56 diptychs in the book (Chris Boot November 2010). The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds ‘ intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience.

Boys ride a motorbike on their way back home after taking a bath in a canal at Chachura village, in Uttar Pradesh April 4, 2012. (Photo by Parivartan Sharma/Reuters)

Mamoni Mandal, member of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), attends a training session at a police training school in Kolkata April 15, 2007. (Photo by Parth Sanyal/Reuters)

A man flies a kite made of 110 Tukkal or paper lanterns for the Hindu festival of “Makar Sankranti”, which marks the start of spring, in Ahmedabad January 13, 2011. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Prayer flags fly at Namgyal Tsemo Monastery above the town of Leh in Ladakh, India September 24, 2016. High in the Indian Himalayas, young novice monks in maroon robes take their lessons inside the 15th-century Thiksey monastery. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)