Srinagar, Sept. 18 -- A two-year-old boy named Arjun reaches toward a stove. His mother catches his hand before the flame can burn him. The word comes naturally: No.

Marghoob sees that moment as an act of love. A parent protects a child from danger, and the child learns a boundary.

The trouble begins much later, when the same word starts appearing in places where danger has disappeared.

A drawing does not fit the classroom assignment, or a question sounds unusual, and a child gives an answer that makes the class laugh.

Over time, these small moments teach the child to worry about getting things wrong.

By the time Arjun is 10, Marghoob suggests, the word has acquired a different force.

The child who once reached toward the unknown be...