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Henna (or mehndi, in Hindi) is a form of body art in which artists use henna paste—the ground up parts of a Lawsonia enermis plant mixed with lemon, water, and sugar—to decorate their clients’ hands and feet, as well other body parts. Henna is often associated with weddings, though as Lakshmi’s work demonstrates, it could be used for fertility purposes or on other ceremonial occasions, from the Hindu festival Diwali to the anniversary of Indian independence. Traditionally, henna designs were simple, though in recent years they have gotten increasingly elaborate; Lakshmi’s over-the-top designs are probably historically inaccurate.
Henna Quotes in The Henna Artist
The The Henna Artist quotes below are all either spoken by Henna or refer to Henna. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
So when it came time to design the floor of my house, I created a pattern as complex as the henna I had painted on those women's bodies, delighting in the knowledge that its meaning was known only to me.
The saffron flowers represent its sterility. Incapable of producing seed as I had proved incapable of producing children. The Ashoka lion, like the icon of our new Republic, a symbol of my ambition. I wanted more, always, for what my hands could accomplish, what my wits could achieve—more than my parents had thought possible. The fine work beneath my feet required the skill of artisans who worked exclusively for the palace. All financed by the painstaking preparations of my charmed oils, lotions, henna paste and, most importantly, the herb sachets I supplied Samir.
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Chapter 11
Quotes
I shook my head. “You think it's that easy? This house took thirteen years of hard work and Yes, Ji and No, Ji and Whatever you say, Ji. You'll never have to do that if you go to that school. You have many years in which to have a child, after you finish school. […] You can be something better than a henna artist. Better than me. You can have a meaningful life.” The water was almost boiling. “Just—please help me find the cotton root bark.”
Her voice trembled. “He said I was just another cheap pair of hands to you. Your business only took off after I arrived. You told me yourself you booked more appointments now because of my henna. If that's true, then why can't you trust me to think for myself? […] It doesn't matter how hard I work, how much I do. You'll never have faith in me!”
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Chapter 16
Quotes
There was always a moment before I placed the final dot of henna on a woman's skin that felt significant somehow. Never again would I repeat that particular design, and after a few weeks, it would disappear entirely. This moment with Mrs. Sharma felt final, and ephemeral, in the same way.
Chapter 21
Quotes
I felt my spirits lift. I would leave the map of my life here, in Jaipur. I would leave behind a hundred thousand henna strokes. I would no longer call myself a henna artist but tell anyone who asked: I healed, I soothed. I made whole. I would leave behind the useless apologies for my disobedience. I would leave behind the yearning to rewrite my past.
My skills, my eagerness to learn, my desire for a life I could call my own—these were things I would take with me. They were a part of me the way my blood, my breath, my bones were.
Get the entire The Henna Artist LitChart as a printable PDF.
Henna Term Timeline in The Henna Artist
The timeline below shows where the term Henna appears in The Henna Artist. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Normally, low-caste Shudra women do henna. But while Shudra henna artists traditionally do simple patterns, Lakshmi’s designs tell stories; her henna...
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Lakshmi paints her henna onto Parvati’s foot: a split fig being fertilized by a wasp. Parvati is delighted by...
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While Lakshmi works on her feet, Parvati comments on the henna artist’s unusual blue eyes. Lakshmi, anxious, jokes that maybe she is related to Marco Polo...
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...to give her 9,000 rupees “for supplies.” To sweeten the deal, Lakshmi throws in a henna party for free—which will also be a great chance for Parvati to see Sheela Sharma...
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Chapter 2
...Nasreen, the Muslim courtesans in Agra who had first introduced her to the art of henna. Hazi, Nasreen, and their friends were from all over the world, and so Lakshmi’s designs...
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...saas has also died, and Lakshmi begins to tear up. Her whole life as a henna artist began with her saas, and she feels that she owes her survival to this...
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...Iyengar. Lakshmi does not know whether to enroll Radha in school or bring her to henna appointments, and she begins to fret about all the things she must teach Radha immediately.
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Chapter 3
...warned her not to touch anything, lest it be perceived as stealing by the wealthy henna clients. As the sisters discuss the saris, Radha notices bruising on Lakshmi’s ribs. “So much...
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...up straight, keep your mouth closed, and other rules of etiquette). Radha wonders about Lakshmi’s henna bowl, but Lakshmi feels protective of it—the bowl came from Lakshmi's saas, after all.
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...and Lakshmi nags him for spending money—until he explains that he got a discount on henna products and salaams Radha. As the tonga drives, Radha marvels at the Hawa Mahal (Palace...
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Lakshmi flashes back to a decade ago, when she was living in Agra and learning henna from Hazi and Nasreen. The elaborate designs she practiced with these “pleasure women” reminded her...
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...painting skill, she is great at making paint, which will come in handy for a henna artist.
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Chapter 4
...several months, Lakshmi plans to bring her to appointments. She shows Radha how to ground henna, and to Lakshmi’s surprise, Radha is skilled, even suggesting lemon juice to make the paste...
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...Kanta to make her laugh, then lays her down so that she can begin her henna—which will be on Kanta’s belly, for fertility. While Lakshmi paints, Kanta asks Radha to choose...
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...city, with these more traditional women. Lakshmi finishes, and Kanta gets up, praising both the henna design and Radha’s strong reading skills.
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Chapter 5
...her name in the design—an old trick that the “pleasure women” would do in their henna.
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Chapter 6
It’s the night of Parvati’s henna party, and Radha and Lakshmi are hard at work painting the hands of the richest...
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...he presents her with a beautiful gold watch, custom engraved with a picture of a henna artist and the letter “L.” Lakshmi is moved, but her excitement turns to fear when...
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Chapter 7
...come back every day for two or three weeks to work on the same, elaborate henna for Latika. The maharani agrees and tells Lakshmi that she will get 500 rupees for...
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...and servants. Soon enough, she is booked for every special occasion. As she does her henna, her new clients pester her for gossip about the palace. Lakshmi is relieved that the...
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Chapter 8
At the end of the second week, Lakshmi is ready to finish the maharani’s henna. As a final detail, she writes Latika’s name on one hand and the name of...
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Chapter 9
...to school, saying she is behind on her schoolwork because she had to grind the henna paste that morning. Lakshmi offers to let Radha quit the henna practice, but Radha ignores...
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Chapter 11
...retorts that Lakshmi only sees her as a servant. If Lakshmi trusts her to make henna, why doesn’t she trust her to make decisions? The words pain Lakshmi deeply, “worse than...
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Chapter 16
Mrs. Patel doesn’t cancel her appointment, but as Lakshmi hennas her arthritis-ridden hands, her client broaches the rumors: has Lakshmi been stealing things? Though Mrs....
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...conversation progresses, Lakshmi begins to feel it is final, just like the last “dot of henna on a woman’s skin.” Suddenly, Mrs. Sharma begins to criticize Lakshmi’s mandala from weeks earlier,...
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Chapter 17
...has a fresh start, but this time, they only bring more sadness. As Lakshmi grinds henna paste no clients are asking for, water pools in the dirt where she had planned...
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Chapter 20
...is unable to pay an oil vendor for his product, he tells her she can henna his wife to settle her debts. But when she arrives at the vendor’s small house,...
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Disgusted, Lakshmi rushes to leave the house, breaking her saas’s henna bowl in the process. As she runs through a nearby alley, she has memories of...
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Chapter 21
...that she’ll leave behind “a map of her life” in Jaipur, alongside the “thousands of henna strokes” she has made there. Instead of identifying as a henna artist, Lakshmi now sees...
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