It’s 2008. I’m ten years old. I have a henna cone in my hand and I’m not afraid to use it. I squeeze unrecognisable flowers onto the women, and I paint wonky footballs and messy rockets onto the boys.

Henna also known as mehendi is an ancient art. While new trends such as white henna, neon or “glow-in-the-dark” henna have emerged in the West, in Sri Lanka the practice has remained more or less ...