A Hindu Sadhu smokes marijuana from a chillum inside the Pashupatinath Temple premise in Kathmandu, Nepal on March 6, 2016. Holy men from India and Nepal come to celebrate the festival of Maha Shivaratri by smoking, smearing their bodies with ash, offering prayers devoted to the Hindu Deity, Lord Shiva. (Photo by Skanda Gautam via ZUMA Wire)

Hindu devotees laugh as they watch the religious festival of Lathmar Holi, where women beat the men with sticks, in the town of Barsana in the Uttar Pradesh region of India, March 17, 2016. During Lathmar Holi the women of Barsana beat the men from Nandgaon, the hometown of Krishna, with wooden sticks in response to their teasing. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

An unidentified man brandishes a gun during a protest against a new citizenship law outside the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India, January 30, 2020. The gunman went live on Facebook to warn he was taking his “final journey” before firing at the protest. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Indian students with face painted pose for a photo during an inter-college face painting competition at the Government Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Polytechnic College in Bhopal, India, 17 February 2020. Over fifty people participated in the event and made face paintings on various issues including the coronavirus or COVID-19. (Photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA/EFE)

A farmer runs behind a police officer during a protest against farm laws introduced by the government, in New Delhi, India, January 26, 2021. Tens of thousands of farmers drove a convoy of tractors into the Indian capital as the nation celebrated Republic Day on Tuesday in the backdrop of agricultural protests that have grown into a rebellion and rattled the government. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Two ruddy shelducks fly under a double rainbow in Odisha, India in July 2022. These birds are ruddy shelduck, known locally as the Brahminy duck. They have a wingspan of between 43 and 53 inches and stand at a maximum of 28 inches tall. (Photo by Suman Das/Media Drum Images)

“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)

Tsewang Dolma, 33, a farmer and housewife poses for a photograph in Matho, a village nestled high in the Indian Himalayas, India September 29, 2016. When asked how living in the world's fastest growing major economy had affected life, Dolma replied: “Our culture is spoiled now. We don't wear our traditional dress”. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)