“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)

This undated photograph shows one of the 14 new species of so-called dancing frogs discovered by a team headed by University of Delhi professor Sathyabhama Das Biju in the jungle mountains of southern India. The study listing the new species brings the number of known Indian dancing frogs to 24 and attempts the first near-complete taxonomic sampling of the single-genus family found exclusively in southern India's lush mountain range called the Western Ghats, which stretches 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) from the west state of Maharashtra down to the country's southern tip. (Photo by Satyabhama Das Biju/AP Photo)

An Indian bride adjusts her veil during a mass marriage ceremony in Ahmadabad, India, Sunday, October 11, 2015. Sixty five Muslim couples tied the knot in a single ceremony organized by a social organization. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)

Lali carries balloons to sell on a beach in Mumbai, India, Sunday, October 11, 2015. The United Nations General Assembly marks October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

A leopard trapped in a well looks up to forest officials on the premises of the Kamakhya temple in Gauhati, India, Thursday, April 4, 2013. According to locals, the leopard fell into the well while scouring for food. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

A woman, with her face covered with colored powders, dances during the Holi Festival of Colors in Lisbon, Sunday, September 15 2013. The festival, which is mainly celebrated during the Hindu spring festival Holi in some regions of India and Nepal, has become popular among people in other communities. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

The Boeing 747-8 cargo plane pilot has seen thunderstorms, shooting stars and sunsets from up above the clouds and has looked down on mountaintops, carpets of cloud and cities lit up at night. The incredible pictures give a glimpse of the view from the pilots are treated to every day. Here: Shooting stars over India. (Photo by Christiaan van Heijst/Caters News Agency)

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)