The Henna Artist

The next day, Lakshmi takes Radha to meet a customer named Kanta, who is constantly pestered by her mother-in-law to conceive a son. Lakshmi has made treats laced with wild yam that she hopes might help. She paints a henna tattoo on Kanta’s abdomen depicting many babies. While she works, Radha reads from a copy of Jane Eyre. Kanta invites the girl to borrow her books any time and also offers to take her to the Western cinema. Lakshmi is worried about exposing her sister to foreign influences too soon.

That afternoon, the sisters go to the courtyard of the Sharma residence, where they have been hired to paint a sand mandala. The family’s daughter, Sheela, is the girl Lakshmi wants to match with Parvati’s son, Ravi. Though beautiful, Sheela is spoiled and demanding. Lakshmi learns that several other prominent families are interested in a match between their sons and Sheela. Lakshmi is practical: “The sooner the marriage was settled, the sooner I could clear my accounts. Until then, I would keep the arrangement to myself lest any other matchmakers picked up the scent” (90).