I_Met_The_Secret_Henna_Queen_of_Pakistan(

Drew Binsky

Discovering the hidden art of henna in Pakistan! I met the secret henna queen whose designs and stories will leave you amazed.

Transcript

00:00This is Sarah and I recreate love stories through the art of henna.

00:06I was born in Karachi and I moved to Hong Kong when I was about seven years old and I've lived

00:28in Hong Kong since then. So I'm born in Karachi, I have Chinese nationality. I do not look

00:34Chinese at all. As the first thing immigration officers asked me, they're like, Chinese?

00:39You're not Chinese.

00:41Were you always an artist from birth or did you get inspired or how did you start with art?

00:45So I think my mind works in nothing else but art. All throughout my childhood I loved to draw, paint.

00:51All throughout school I did art as a subject and even in university that was my degree.

00:57As far as henna art is concerned, I used to watch my mom.

01:00She used to apply henna for brides and I used to just get inspired and started practicing.

01:05And I've been doing henna for, well, as long as I can remember now.

01:09What is your experience so far having a henna tattoo?

01:11It's amazing. It's my first time and I cannot believe that this is in my hands right now. Like, I can.

01:17I've been following you guys for about five years now, so I'm doing a little portrait that I like the best.

01:23Love the two of you as well. Just a rough sketch so I can kind of get an idea of what I want to do on the hand.

01:28My first bride was when I was ten years old.

01:31I started my business, Sara's Henna, in Hong Kong around fifteen years ago.

01:36And it was the first business of its kind in Hong Kong.

01:39The Chinese people, the locals, had no idea what it actually was.

01:43And I explained it to them as a form of traditional temporary tattooing.

01:48I'm so glad that I don't have any reactions from henna. Is this natural?

01:52Oh yeah. This is 100% natural organic henna that I make at home.

01:57So basically in Pakistan and in India as well, in the local markets you get chemical cones.

02:03And they're really bad for your skin.

02:05So I started making organic henna. I roll these cones myself.

02:09And I now supply this all over Pakistan.

02:11So what makes Sara's henna stand out from all the other henna artists?

02:14So basically I started the love story henna concept about five, six years ago now.

02:19And all it is is that I just ask the bride or my client, you know, what their story is.

02:24So for example, for Deanna, I wanted it to represent her time in Karachi.

02:29Hence why there is all these bespoke elements.

02:31We start with the camel ride because I saw it on your Insta stories.

02:34So we've got it there with Drew and Deanna with her hair flying.

02:38I know you guys have been really inspired by truck art.

02:41Yeah.

02:42And it's something very traditional Pakistani.

02:44So these are the kind of things that make up my bridal henna.

02:47When I first started doing it, there was nobody else doing this concept.

02:50But now of course with social media, it's incredible.

02:53Like brides all over the world ask for it.

02:55And artists, there are some amazing artists who do the same thing now.

02:59And they do it a hundred times better than me, honestly.

03:01Okay, so my standard grade for bespoke designs, the love story henna, is a thousand U.S.

03:07I fly worldwide for this and it covers both arms till the elbows and feet up to the knees.

03:14What are a few countries that you've flown to for work?

03:16Oh my God.

03:1795 or 10.

03:18Okay, I've been to Europe, all over Asia, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, and now Pakistan.

03:26Sarah is one of the many hardworking women in the world

03:29who don't get enough credit for their entrepreneurial spirit.

03:32Not only is she a talented artist, but she's a fantastic person

03:35and a pleasure to spend the afternoon with in Karachi.

03:39I'm Drew Binsky and if you like my travel videos, please click subscribe and join me

03:43as I plan to visit every country in the world.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended