03048cam a2200601 i 4500 1145949834 TxAuBib 20240215120000.0 210727s2020||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2021354214 9780778309451 hardcover 0778309452 hardcover TxAuBib rda Joshi, Alka,. The henna artist / Alka Joshi. Toronto, Ontario : Mira, [2020] ©2020. 342 pages ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier 24 unnumbered pages at the back of the book includes : acknowledgments, glossary of terms, the story of henna, the caste system in India, and recipes. Escaping from an arranged and abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone from her 1950s rural village to the vibrant pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the henna artist - and confidante - most in demand to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own... Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow- a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those who surround her as she does. Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman's struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. -- From dust jacket. 20240215. Since 1947. fast Young women India Jaipur Fiction. Mehndi (Body painting) Fiction. Abused women Fiction. Henna (Dye) Fiction. Secrecy Fiction. Sisters Fiction. Artists Fiction. Upper class Fiction. India History 1947- Fiction. Young women. fast Upper class. fast Sisters. fast Secrecy. fast Mehndi (Body painting.) fast Henna (Dye.) fast Artists. fast Abused women. fast Historical fiction. Marriage Fiction. Jaipur (India) Fiction. India fast Jaipur. India. fast History. fast Historical fiction. fast Fiction. fast Novels. fast Novels. fast