A Bindi Can Be …

Book excerpt: A young girl makes a bindi with her grandmother and discovers what wearing one means to her. A young girl is eager to learn all about bindis, the red dot that goes between her brows. Paati, her grandmother, shows her how to make a bindi by combining traditional ingredients in a clay pot. They mix and mix and mix until, like magic, the mixture turns from yellow to bright red. The girl wears her bindi when she celebrates festivals, such as Diwali. But she also wears it on an ordinary day, since it keeps her centered and calm, and lets her see the world as one. In this way, she discovers that her bindi is more than just a dot.