--- product_id: 137233341 title: "The Henna Artist" price: "S$26" currency: SGD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.sg/products/137233341-the-henna-artist store_origin: SG region: Singapore --- # The Henna Artist **Price:** S$26 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Henna Artist - **How much does it cost?** S$26 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sg](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/137233341-the-henna-artist) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: The Henna Artist: A Reese's Book Club Pick (The Jaipur Trilogy, 1): 9780778309451: Joshi, Alka: Books Review: A Story that Uplifts and Empowers Your Soul - The Henna Artist is a beautifully written and deeply moving story that celebrates resilience, hope, and the power of self-discovery. Alka Joshi brings 1950s Jaipur to life with such rich detail that I felt transported into its vibrant streets and colorful traditions. Lakshmi’s journey is both inspiring and heartwarming—her determination to build her own path, while caring deeply for others, makes her an unforgettable character. This novel left me uplifted and grateful, reminding me of the strength that lies within us all and the beauty of second chances. Review: An imagined story of life in 1950s India - The Henna Artist is about a woman struggling for independence and voice. Lakshmi is the first-person storyteller who was an accomplished henna artist and herbalist. Her story takes place during the 1950s in India after the country had gained independence, but women were still property. It is not historical fiction but rather an imagined history. Lakshmi left her husband Hari since he beat her, primarily for not having children. Leaving her arranged marriage meant that she also left her family and hometown. She had to reinvent herself and establish contacts where she had lacked the network of relatives from her formative years. Lakshmi, meaning goddess of wealth, employed a young boy named Malik to help her obtain supplies and move her business around to her clients. Malik is an endearing character who matures as the plot develops and portrays to Lakshmi, whom he calls "Aunty Boss," how to use relationships to one's advantage without taking advantage of people. I loved how he interacted with clients, women of a higher class. Privileged women appreciated Lakshmi's talents in painting their hands, feet, and other body parts with artistic personalized henna designs. She also peddled herbal contraceptives; for that business, she had men who purchased her sachets for their mistresses. Additionally, Lakshmi provides fertility and abortion treatments. Her many wealthy clients provide enough income for a house but also put her in precarious predicaments. Complicating her life, Lakshmi discovers she has a thirteen-year-old sister that she hadn't known existed. Since she had fled her family in the disgrace of divorce, she had not known her mother had another child. Her sister Radha shows up courtesy of her estranged husband, and Lakshmi becomes the teenager's guardian and experiences all the angst and responsibility that raising an adolescent brings. Her Life becomes even more entangled and complex as she endeavors to continue her business and try her hand at matchmaking. Though the story is sometimes unrealistic, this talented author delves into bloodlines, power and powerlessness, and caste. There are also poignant running themes about reputation and gossip. Then there is much related to ambition, skill, responsibility, betrayal, and moral grounds. This author is a great storyteller; she made her characters come alive and created a page-turner with this novel. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #480,925 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #12 in Cultural Heritage Fiction #255 in Literary Fiction (Books) #3,003 in Mothers & Children Fiction | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 37,225 Reviews | ## Images ![The Henna Artist - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/914ziL+fEcL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Story that Uplifts and Empowers Your Soul *by S***O on September 10, 2025* The Henna Artist is a beautifully written and deeply moving story that celebrates resilience, hope, and the power of self-discovery. Alka Joshi brings 1950s Jaipur to life with such rich detail that I felt transported into its vibrant streets and colorful traditions. Lakshmi’s journey is both inspiring and heartwarming—her determination to build her own path, while caring deeply for others, makes her an unforgettable character. This novel left me uplifted and grateful, reminding me of the strength that lies within us all and the beauty of second chances. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An imagined story of life in 1950s India *by L***L on November 22, 2022* The Henna Artist is about a woman struggling for independence and voice. Lakshmi is the first-person storyteller who was an accomplished henna artist and herbalist. Her story takes place during the 1950s in India after the country had gained independence, but women were still property. It is not historical fiction but rather an imagined history. Lakshmi left her husband Hari since he beat her, primarily for not having children. Leaving her arranged marriage meant that she also left her family and hometown. She had to reinvent herself and establish contacts where she had lacked the network of relatives from her formative years. Lakshmi, meaning goddess of wealth, employed a young boy named Malik to help her obtain supplies and move her business around to her clients. Malik is an endearing character who matures as the plot develops and portrays to Lakshmi, whom he calls "Aunty Boss," how to use relationships to one's advantage without taking advantage of people. I loved how he interacted with clients, women of a higher class. Privileged women appreciated Lakshmi's talents in painting their hands, feet, and other body parts with artistic personalized henna designs. She also peddled herbal contraceptives; for that business, she had men who purchased her sachets for their mistresses. Additionally, Lakshmi provides fertility and abortion treatments. Her many wealthy clients provide enough income for a house but also put her in precarious predicaments. Complicating her life, Lakshmi discovers she has a thirteen-year-old sister that she hadn't known existed. Since she had fled her family in the disgrace of divorce, she had not known her mother had another child. Her sister Radha shows up courtesy of her estranged husband, and Lakshmi becomes the teenager's guardian and experiences all the angst and responsibility that raising an adolescent brings. Her Life becomes even more entangled and complex as she endeavors to continue her business and try her hand at matchmaking. Though the story is sometimes unrealistic, this talented author delves into bloodlines, power and powerlessness, and caste. There are also poignant running themes about reputation and gossip. Then there is much related to ambition, skill, responsibility, betrayal, and moral grounds. This author is a great storyteller; she made her characters come alive and created a page-turner with this novel. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Henna Artist: Wonderful Read *by W***N on May 31, 2020* The Henna Artist Lakshmi, the narrator of this engaging and thoroughly enjoyable story, runs away from a forced and brutal marriage at age 15, to begin a new life in post-British1950’s India. Her skills, learned in her home village, eventually lead her to a respectable position as a henna artist painting her beautiful designs on the hands and feet of wealthy matron clients in Jaipur, a large city in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan. Lakshmi is also skilled in the ways of India’s traditional medicine, which she uses both for healing remedies and to free women from unwanted pregnancies. Radha, a younger sister she didn’t know she had, enters Lakshmi’s life after the death of their parents and their relationship develops in remarkably complex and telling ways. Lakshmi is a classic fictional character, a woman fiercely independent, conflicted with what is right and what is wrong, wringing herself out constantly in an effort to emerge better than she was the day before. To me, she is a powerful image of the human spirit down to its very core. How does such a woman deal with the men of her time that she meets up with along the way? Can Lakshmi resist the cultural patterns set for centuries establishing male-female/husband-wife relationships? Lakshmi is faced with these issues time and time again throughout the story. Her resolve and courage are tested with each encounter, for better or worse. Spiritualism in the 1950’s India and the forces balancing traditional and modern values are also replayed in the story time and time again, each with subtle variations on a theme. The caste system is interpreted by Ms. Joshi is a more gentle way than most accounts, especially lower castes, and many of the issues that faced India’s people during that period are not addressed. The partition of India and Pakistan and the troubles and prejudices that arose with the Muslim community who stayed behind in India after the partition are left untold, leaving the reader with a view of Joshi’s India that is perhaps more ideal than what history can reveal. But India portrayed by Ms. Joshi is indeed a wonderful place for a reader to find himself (I’m a male). Bursting with energy, insightful commentary on all manner of life and living. A remarkable display of the times and places that at once are unraveling and revealing themselves chapter by chapter (with interesting appendices on cultural and historical subjects to boot). It makes me want to get on the next flight from Newark Liberty to Jaipur and have my hands and feet painted by a henna artist. William Klein, PhD New York, NY May 30, 2020 Rating Five Stars --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sg/products/137233341-the-henna-artist](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/137233341-the-henna-artist) --- *Product available on Desertcart Singapore* *Store origin: SG* *Last updated: 2026-05-08*