PESHAWAR: While big malls and shops run by male owners did good business as Eid shopping reached its peak on `Chand Raat` women running beauty parlours, salons and boutiques in Peshawar were also not lagging behind. In fact, girls who know the art of making henna designs are in great demand on the eve of Eid.

`I started making designs for women who came to a beauty parlour located in my street. It is good time to earn some pocket money, said Hina, a psychology student who was making henna design on hand of a young girl while others waited in queue in a small beauty parlour operating in a house in Hayatabad Township.

`I started making henna designs just because it was a hobby. I used to practice on paper and now1earn pocket money on Eid days with my hobby,` she said.

Making delicate designs within an hour on both sides of hands got her Rs1000 per client. Charges differ depending on the design and the sl(ills of the artist who imprinted beautiful floral designs with henna packed in a cone-like plastic wrapper.

Hina, who showed different designs downloaded from different websites on her phone showed the clients what they wanted and created a similar copy with hennawithin an hour.

She said the quality of henna was important and the clients should be knowing how long it lasted.

She said that due to busy life, especially that of students and working women, there were different kinds of henna available offering different time for the henna colour to remain on the palms.

`There is one kind of henna sold in market called `emergency-cone` sold for Rs25-65, the colour of which lasted for 4-5 days on palms, said Hina. Another type is called `urgent` which lasts for only one day and is darker in colour. That henna cone is sold for about Rs80100.

`Usually women and girls who have to attend a wedding ceremony use it one day before the function, said Hina, adding that `urgent` henna cone though gave darker colour but was not her favourite choice.

`It is a bit harsh on the skin, I guess,` she said giving reason why she did not prefer to use `urgent` henna.

The beauty parlour owner, who has been busy dying her clients hair as others waited, said that there were very few girls who were good at making henna designs in Peshawar. As compared to other cities such artists were very few in Peshawar.

`There is a great demand for such artists a day before Eid so Iarrange it for my clients and luckily Hina just lives in the same street,` said the beauticians, Shehnaz.

It is not just main markets and bazaars which were crowded with people shopping for Eid, small beauty parlours and salons in different residential localities were also busy as the few well-established beauty parlours in posh localities of Peshawar were already heavily booked and open for business till midnight.

The crowded bazaars, colourfully decorated and brightly lit shopping malls and busy shoppers before Eid is assuring that peace is slowly prevailing in the city bathed in blood with frequent suicidebombings just a few years ago.

Women and children and even transgender community organised a small `Chand Raat` party in Gulbahar. They shared their Eid preparations and celebrations with the small number of invitees from media and civil society in Peshawar city.

The transgender people, who have recently started taking part in public celebrations and activities after forming TransAction Alliance in the province to raise awareness about their rights in public, shared their Eid preparations with the invited guests. They distributed bangles and wished each other a happy Eid.