The Boy & The Bindi

VIVEK SHRAYA | RAJNI PERERA

  • English

  • South Asian family, intersections of gender and cultural identity, mother and child

  • Pre Kindergarten +

A five-year-old boy becomes fascinated with his mother's bindi, the red dot commonly worn by South Asian women to indicate the point at which creation begins, and wishes to have one of his own. Rather than chastise her son, she agrees to it, and teaches him about its cultural significance, allowing the boy to discover the magic of the bindi, which in turn gives him permission to be more fully himself. Hand paintings by Rajni Perera, The Boy & the Bindi is a joyful celebration of gender and cultural difference.