Book

"I hate mehndi!”

Memories of Mehndi... The Book is on sale for £6.99

The story of this book begins with these unexpected words. We were in a restaurant in Morocco and the waiter asked us why we were there. When we told him that we were studying the cultivation and production of mehndi, he told us his story (Barber’s Shop).

It was a turning point in our research and we decided to write a book that captured people’s experiences. Listening to their stories breathed life into our findings and confirmed our impression that no single meaning, event or use could be attributed to mehndi. Finding out what mehndi meant to each individual gave us an insight into personal beliefs that were sometimes in keeping with the prevailing cultural tradition and at other times at odds with it.

The small selection of stories we have chosen expresses the fine balance between the practical and the creative, tragedy and joy, duty and pleasure, cultural continuity and social change. Each story has been printed with a community language in which it was originally delivered and therefore, this book has eight different languages.

We hope that you enjoy thebook and would like to thank everybody who has contributed to it.

Nasreen Rajabali & Gig Payne: Birmingham UK

This book has been successfully assessed by Central Library Birmingham for their Language Department