The girl was holding her younger sister, who had kajal applied around her eyes

A girl stood at the doorway, holding her baby sister firmly in her arms. This was a residential quarter of Berhampore in eastern India, where stepping just one turn away from the main road suddenly thickens the sense of human presence. On the baby’s forehead was a tiny black dot, and her eyes were outlined in an almost exaggerated darkness. The effect was striking, almost theatrical. Yet this was no decoration. It was kajal, applied to protect children from the evil eye. Less makeup than amulet.

Kajal has been used across South Asia for generations, traditionally made from soot mixed with plant oils. Whether or not it holds any medical value is beside the point. What matters here is not proof, but continuity. Belief persists because it has always been practiced. Culture, after all, rarely waits for rational approval.

When I raised my camera, the older girl pressed her lips together, adjusted her grip, and straightened her back slightly. For someone so young, she carried herself with quiet composure. Holding her sister like this was probably an everyday task, rehearsed until it felt natural. The baby, by contrast, seemed entirely lost. Her large, dark-rimmed eyes stared straight at me, empty of suspicion or curiosity, filled only with the confusion of a moment she could not yet begin to understand.

Berhampore on Google Map

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