Brides In Bengal Asked Not To Apply Mehndi On Fingertips; Know Why

New Delhi: Tradition is clashing with technology when it comes to the ubiquitous Mehndi, an intrinsic part of wedding rituals. Mehndi-dyed palms are not suitable for biometric registration, a must to register marriages in Bengal.

As per law, couples intending to tie the knot in Bengal must get their thumb impressions recorded twice – first at the registrar’s office while submitting an application and again a month later during the marriage registration, which happens mostly on the wedding day, Times of India reported.

Registrars have struggled to capture the thumb impression of brides and witnesses because of the mehndi on their fingertips. There have been a couple of such incidents in the past month. They are now advising couples to leave out thumb tips while applying mehndi on their palms, the report stated.

“After biometric registration was rolled out, we received a notice that said mehendi, alta or sindoor on the fingertips, especially on the left thumb, would affect the recording of fingerprints. That is why I am specifically asking all my clients to avoid applying mehndi on the left thumb,” a Dum Dum-based registrar was quoted as saying. She said that in one recent wedding, one of the witnesses had to be changed at the last moment.

A couple that got married on December 7 had to push their marriage registration January-end due to mehndi on the bride’s hands.

In another case, the bride left out the fingertips while applying mehndi on the most important day of her life. Her biometrics was glitch-free.