Quill Tree Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Bhangra Boogie
Text copyright © 2025 by Hena Khan
Illustrations copyright © 2025 by Sandhya Prabhat
All rights reserved. Manufactured in Capriate San Gervasio, Italy. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Library of Congress Control Number: X ISBN 978-0-06-326502-8
The artist used Adobe Photoshop to create the illustrations for this book. 25 26 27 28 29 RTLO 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
he bhangra dancers leapt through the air.
Talia’s eyes grew rounder than the sweet gulab jamun piled high on the dessert table. Her heart thumped like the giant dhol.
Talia imagined she was a dancer, dazzling the crowd at the mehndi. Her toes would barely touch the ground. Her arms, filled with bangles, would stretch toward the ceiling.
Everyone would clap and shout, “Vah! Vah!”
But Talia knew her feet turned into heavy clay pots whenever she tried to dance in front of others. Her arms froze like kulfi.
So, when the dancers bowed and the rest of the guests rushed onto the dance floor, Talia shrank into her chair.
Mama spotted her from across the room. She waved for Talia to join her.
Talia shook her head and stared at the henna on her hands, wishing she was invisible.
Mariyah tugged on Talia’s kameez next.
“Why aren’t you dancing?” she asked. Talia shrugged and pulled her shirt away from her cousin as a lump bigger than a ladoo formed in her throat.
Mariyah shimmied away, holding her head high, like she didn’t care who else was watching.
Talia ran to her grandmother and buried her face in Dadi’s dupatta.
“Don’t you want to go up there?” Dadi asked Talia as the bride stood up to join a circle of girls. “Doesn’t it look like fun?”
Talia peeked at everyone dancing and nodded. It did look fun, but she stayed safely stuck to her seat.
“Your Dada used to say I danced like a chicken. And he teased me for stepping on his toes,” Dadi said. Talia couldn’t help but giggle as she pictured her grandparents flapping their arms like birds.
“I loved it no matter how silly we looked, because we were doing it together,” Dadi added. “And when he spun me around, it felt like I was flying.
“But that was long ago, when I was a young lady,” Dadi said with a sigh.
Talia squeezed Dadi’s hand tight. When the music changed to a new song, she noticed her grandmother’s foot tapping to the beat.
“You know this song?” Talia asked, surprised.
“Oh yes, it’s back from my wedding,” Dadi said.
Talia watched her grandmother’s eyes grow dim while she remembered.
After a moment, Talia swallowed hard, stood up, and held out her hand to Dadi.
“Let’s dance!” she offered.
“Me? Oh no, no, I haven’t danced in years.”
Dadi crossed her arms.
“That’s okay,” Talia said. “Come on.”
“But I have a cane now.” Dadi frowned. “How will I dance with it?”
“You can do it,” Talia encouraged.
“I don’t know,” Dadi said, but her eyes were already brighter.
“We’ll go slow. And I’ll be with you.” Talia handed Dadi her cane and led her to the center of the room.
Dadi and Talia stood on the dance floor and stared at the guests, shaking, swaying, and bopping. As Talia felt their eyes on her, her legs started to stiffen into dandiya, and her hands felt as sticky as a jalebi. Dadi’s cheeks turned pink, too, as she glanced around the room.
But then Talia took a long, deep breath and flapped her arms. Dadi followed her.
They both shook their shoulders and twisted their wrists, copying the others.
Talia stepped on Dadi’s toes,
and they laughed together.
Mama smiled. Mariyah and Noor cheered. And the bride clapped. Talia spread out her arms, and Dadi spun her around. Her heart beat fast—bum, bum bum—like the drums, and she felt like she was flying. Suddenly, a circle formed around Dadi and Talia. Everyone shouted, “Vah! Vah! Vah!”
folk music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of what is now India and Pakistan
a shawl-like scarf worn around the shoulders, to cover hair, or as an accessory
a decorated multicolored wooden stick used in a form of traditional dance
a double-sided barrel drum popular in music from the Indian subcontinent
a dessert; a fried doughball soaked in syrup
a dye made from a plant that is used to decorate the skin and color hair in several cultures
a sweet, crispy funnel cake–like dessert that is usually bright orange and soaked in a thick syrup
a rich spherical dessert often served at celebrations, ceremonies, and festivals in the Indian subcontinent
a long shirt, often the top part of an outfit called shalwar kameez
a dessert; a milky frozen custard with ground almonds
another name for henna; also used to refer to a South Asian pre-wedding party with rituals that include decorating the bride’s hands and feet with henna, eating sweets, and dancing that is traditionally for women but often for everyone in modern times
an expression of appreciation in Urdu and Hindi like “Bravo!” or “Marvelous!”
