A Sadhu or a Hindu holy man carrying his pet monkey walks after taking a dip at the confluence of the river Ganges and the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of “Makar Sankranti” festival at Sagar Island, south of Kolkata, India, January 14, 2017. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A toddler dressed as Hindu Lord Krishna takes part in Krishna Janmashtami celebrations at a temple in Kolkata, India, on August 23, 2019. Krishna Janmashtami is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. (Photo by Tumpa Mondal/Xinhua News Agency)

In this Friday, November 30, 2018 handout photo released by Raindrop Media, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas celebrate during a mehendi ceremony, a day before their wedding, at Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur, India. (Photo by Raindrop Media via AP Photo)

Naga Sadhus or Hindu Holy men leave after taking a dip during the first "Shahi Snan" (grand bath) at “Kumbh Mela” or the Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, previously known as Allahabad, India, January 15, 2019. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Coaches of the North-East Express passenger train that derailed late Wednesday near Raghunathpur railroad station in Buxar district of Bihar state, India, Thursday, October 12, 2023. The train was on its way to Assam state from New Delhi. (Photo by Aftab Alam Siddiqui/AP Photo)

A man rides a bicycle past a mural portraying Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and slogans to encourage people to cast their vote, in Jalandhar on May 10, 2024 ahead of the fourth phase of voting of India's general election. (Photo by Shammi Mehra/AFP Photo)

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)

“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)