India, Feb. 20 -- The evil eye is, in many ways, a universal superstition. We all fear the envy (at best) and ill intentions (at worst) of others will alter our fate.

The eyes, those windows to the soul, are generally considered gateways to these intentions. So we guard the face (with a large, black tika on a chubby baby) and ward off the evil eye with charms and amulets.

Children, pregnant women and those who have had a recent change in fortune for the better are generally thought to be prime targets. Luck is so fickle a thing that even an inadvertent glance of latent malice, it is thought, could scare it away. So, it is closely guarded. People are protected, and so are homes, workstations, livestock, crops and even cars.

Amulets typi...