Bollywood Club hosted their annual Henna Booth with nearly 20 people waiting on Main Street each day during Cardinal Hour Oct. 29-31.

The booth was in celebration of the Hindu holiday Diwali, the festival of lights. The holiday outlines the victory of good versus evil in the Hindu epic the Ramayan. Henna, also known as mehendi, is a paste made out of the plant Lawsonia inermis that, when dried, creates a tattoo-like effect. Traditionally applied during the holiday and other auspicious events, it is a way of celebrating the luck of the holiday and is believed to bring health and good fortune.

Sophomore and Bollywood Club choreographer Aarya Joshi found the booth to be a good outlet for showcasing her henna skills. Joshi worked the booth on the last day of the event on Oct. 31.

“I think participating in the henna booth made me feel proud of being in this club,” Joshi said. “A lot of people were admiring the skill that I had and said that they’re really grateful for the fact that I could do this for them. I achieved that due to Bollywood Club.”

Junior Micah Love got her henna done for the first time at the booth. She had previously learned about mehendi in her Hindi class and decided to get it done after hearing about it.

“It was a lot of fun,” Love said. “It looks like it had a bunch of tiny details, and it was really nice. You could tell people actually put a lot of effort into making your design.”

Bollywood Club used the booth to bring awareness to the Diwali performance, which had festive dancing, skits and an eating contest on Nov. 6. The profits from the booth, $175 total, were used to fund the performance.

“Henna is a practice that many people, regardless of the culture, are aware of,” Joshi said. “When we share these practices during the festival time of Diwali, it’s really impactful for them to have a peek into our culture.”

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