Women Talk

Meet Henna Artist Sonali who is an inspiration to many

Henna Artist Sonali’s struggle story is incredible and inspirational


We have heard this line of those who try never to give up but Sonali, who lives in Kolhapur, is a living example of these lines. Sonali is not a celebrity. She is a common lady, who is a mehndi artist by profession. She does not even have any means to promote her talent. Due to lack of money and lack of education, She sets up her stall in front of a temple in Kolhapur.

The stalls have artificial jewellery, which when a woman comes to buy them, She tells them about her mehndi skills. But She is present on social media platforms like Instagram and handles her account herself. She herself puts all the content on her Instagram page. Her best mehndi designs are being well-liked on this platform. Sonali’s fan following is increasing day by day. Along with this, Sonali is taking a step forward on the ladder of success every day.

How did her journey start?

The story of Sonali’s struggle is long. There was not enough money in the house to get an education. But she studied till the 7th standard. When fees started increasing, studies stopped. Her studies may have remained incomplete in the middle, but the dream of doing something was in her mind since childhood. She wanted to learn to apply mehndi but did not even have the money to join the class.

So Sonali started with ‘Block Mehndi’. She lives in Mumbai, Juhu. Many people used to visit Juhu beach. Celebrities and foreign tourists also used to come here, so her block mehndi work went well. Along with applying mehndi on Juhu beach, Sonali also learned to speak English from foreign tourists.

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How did Sonali’s hobby turn into a business?

Sonali was married at the age of just 18. After marriage, She left Mumbai and came to Kolhapur. When Mumbai left, the work of ‘Block Mehndi’ was also left behind. Even after reaching her in-laws’ house, Sonali had a desire to do something, she wanted to fulfill her hobby of applying mehndi and wanted to move forward. But it was still not possible for Sonali due to lack of money.

She could not take any training to learn to apply mehndi because it required money and she did not have it. So her husband bought her a mobile phone. She used to see mehndi designs in it and apply them to her hand. Initially, She used to apply Mehendi in her own hands. Slowly her hands were set on the funnel of Mehndi. New designs also started coming in.

Sonali’s struggle story is inspirational

Sonali had no means to take her skills to the people. The biggest problem was that Sonali’s own family members don’t like her hobby.  Her husband and mother-in-law supported her completely, but other members of the house and people in the neighbourhood were always trying to break her morale. She also sets up a small stall near the temple of Kolhapur and sells artificial jewellery for women in this stall.

Along with jewellery, Sonali tells every visiting customer about her mehndi skills and gives them her number. She had also applied for the first bridal mehndi for only 500 rupees. But now she takes 3000 rupees and sometimes 5000 rupees for bridal mehndi.

The money earned by skill is priceless for her and with this money she has taken steps to buy the house of her dreams. Along with this, she wanted to increase her work also. Now along with Mehendi, she also learned to do bridal makeup. She has learned all this by watching videos on YouTube. She also knows how to speak a little bit of English, which she has learned while applying mehndi to foreigners.

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Jagisha Arora

MA in History and has worked as a freelance writer. She writes on issues of gender, caste and democracy.
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