Mina’s Spring F Colors

Mina, 11, enjoys playing computer games and watching TV, and has decidedly mixed feelings about her Indian heritage. She loves her Nanaji (grandfather), but is sometimes embarrassed by his old-fashioned ideas and customs.

When she overhears the most popular girl at school refer to Nanaji as a stupid old geek who can’t even talk right, Mina is hurt and incensed. She vows to get revenge during her family’s annual party celebrating Holi, the Indian festival of color.

Instead of squirting Ashley with the traditional harmless colored powders that are the hallmark of the celebration, Mina plans to barrage her foe with a concoction that will leave a more permanent impression. In the end, the scheme backfires, and Nanaji helps his granddaughter to see that her stunt is less about revenge than about coming to terms with her own ambivalent feelings toward him.