A woman in custume attends the 2021 New York Comic Con, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 7, 2021. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
A man dressed in a Halloween costume swims along the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Batroun, on October 28, 2021. (Photo by Ibrahim Chalhoub/AFP Photo)
A woman with a dove on her back pays tribute to Yemanja, goddess of the sea, during a traditional New Year's Eve celebration in Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 29, 2023. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)
A young Iranian woman walks in Tehran on June 14, 2021, ahead of the June 18 presidential elections. Iran is gearing up for a presidential election on June 18 but many young people are more focussed on the daily struggle to survive and their dreams for the future. Jobs are scarce in a recession-hit economy battered by sanctions, a crisis exacerbated by the region's worst outbreak of the Covid pandemic. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)
“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)
In this November 30, 2017 photo, Douglas scoops up mud from the bottom of the polluted Guaire River, in search of gold and anything valuable he can sell, in Caracas, Venezuela. Some stretches of the river smell of sewer while others emit a toxic odor of fuel, a stench that stays in ones nose for hours after leaving the water. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
A trained monkey rides a toy cycle during a Topeng Monyet (Monkey Mask) show at a densely populated area in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)