Sold by Patricia McCormick

At the beginning of the novel, Lakshmi lives in rural, mountainous Nepal, which is a small country in South Asia.

Population = 1.2 billion That’s almost 4 times the size of the

United States!

Population = 1.2 billion That’s almost 4 times the size of the

United States!Religions

Hindu (74.0%) Muslim (14%) Christian (7.%) Sikh (1.9%) Buddhist, Jain and Parsi (2.5%)

Government is democratic

Climate is varying and includes Rainforests Deserts Mountains Glaciers

Thar Desert

Valley of Flowers National Park

Politics and Geography

Monsoons = seasonal winds and heavy rainfall

Drought = period of severe dryness and lack of rain

Most Indians do not eat beef as the animal is venerated in Hinduism. The cow is considered to be a sacred

animal because people consume its milk.

Yogurt is a common food of India.Lassis, made of yogurt, spices, and

fruit, are common drinks.

Men wear the sherwani, which is a knee-length garment similar to a coat.

Women wear saris , an article of clothing that is draped around the body.

Women also wear a salvar kameez, which is a long tunic worn over a pair of trousers.

Why do you often see an Indian woman with a red dot on her forehead? The “dot” is called a bindi. In older times, the red dot was a symbol of a

woman’s marriage. Bindis today are worn throughout South Asia by

women and girls and no longer signify age, marital status, religious background or ethnic affiliation.▪ The bindi has become a decorative item and is no

longer restricted in colour or shape.

How do Indian men and women behave in their social context? Indians usually maintain a social

distance with members of the opposite sex (about an arm's length away). ▪ If you observe a step backward when you

stand too close to Indians friends, it probably does not mean that you have bad breath, it may mean that you have invaded their personal space.

Affection in public is avoided between even husband and wife.

India is defined by a caste system social hierarchy is very important also very restrictive

Poverty in India is widespread, as India is estimated to have a third of the world's poor. Causes of poverty in India ▪ large population ▪ low literacy (ability to read) ▪ the caste system in India also makes changing one’s

social class difficult ▪ the role of women in Indian society - compared to boys,

far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out in order to work to make money.

India is defined by a caste system social hierarchy is very important

Traditionally, Hindu parents look for a prospective match for their son/daughter from their own community also known as arranged marriage. Failure to arrange a match for a daughter is a source of

stress and sometimes shame for the family. In many south Asian countries, the bride’s family is

expected to pay a dowry to the husband’s family. Dowry = money, goods, or estate that a woman brings

to her husband in marriage. One of the basic functions of a dowry has been to serve

as a form of protection for the wife against the possibility of ill treatment by her husband and his family.

If a woman’s family cannot provide a dowry, their daughter may not be able to marry, causing shame to the family.

Most Indians practice Hinduism Oldest living religion Over 1 billion followers

Religious Beliefs No eternal hell / no damnation Each soul is free to find his own way Life is cyclical and God recreates

Hindus are generously tolerant of other faiths. karma = the law of cause and effect by which

each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.

Reincarnation = soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.

Hindus prefer cremation of the body upon death, rather than burial, believing that the soul lives on and will inhabit a new body on Earth.

Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, noninjury / nonviolence.

Lakshmi, the main character, is named after the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess

of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm.