Why I co-wrote the Eid book? Part 1
People often ask me why I wrote this book. Unlike for other books, this is a layered question. What they are really asking sometimes is that why someone who was raised in a Hindu family, decided to write about a Muslim festival.
So here it goes. And hang tight, because this is quite a story!
The seed was sown when I was a little girl and would ask my mom to tell me the story of her lost beloved home, over and over.
My mom was born before India was partitioned, in what is now Bangladesh. Land and natural beauty were in plenty back then! They had a beautiful house with a pond, dozens of fruit trees, and whatnot.
Image credit: Re-thinking the future.
Then came the dreadful phase of the country splitting up. Communal riots erupted with extreme violence. Hindus fled Bangladesh and Muslims fled the West Bengal state of India.
My grandpa had already moved to West Bengal for a job to support his family. So here was my grandma, all alone, with her kids when they had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave their home overnight.
They packed up whatever little they could and made the dangerous journey over to Kolkata. And just like that, they lost everything. For my mom, who was 9 at the time, it wasn’t the loss of money or possessions but the loss of that charming little house and the idyllic garden that left her heartbroken.
Years later, they learned that a Muslim person who used to come by to drop milk at the house took over the property. This isn’t a one-sided story. Identical things happened in India too.
Till the very end, my mom held onto the memories of her beloved lost home. She could describe each tree, each fruit, each spot in that garden. Although it could have been so easy to harbor these feelings, I never sensed any hatred or dislike targeted towards anyone. All I sensed was a sadness about the futility of communal disagreements that sometimes turn violent and cause destruction.
These stories shaped my childhood in more ways than I had realized. The next story is one of an unusual mix of hope and despair. Stay tuned…
Holi Bonfire Lamp Craft
The Story of Holi
The legend of Holi says that a little brave boy named Prahlad defied an evil King. The king asked his sister, Holika, to sit in the fire with Prahlad. Holika had a magical power that fires couldn’t hurt her. But when Holika sat in the fire with Prahlad, a miracle happened. Prahlad was completely fine and it was Holika who disappeared in the fire! Holi is a celebration of Prahlad’s victory over the evil King.
The Bonfire Craft
Now that we know all about Holi, let’s make the craft!
Materials: yellow and orange tissue papers, a transparent plastic cup, brown cardboard piece, LED tea light, popsicle stick.
Step 1: Cut out and color Prahlad’s shape on the left.
Step 2: Glue it to the top part of a popsicle stick. Put the cup upside down and make a small slit in it. Slide the popsicle stick in until it looks like Prahlad is standing on top of the cup.
Step 3. Cut squares about an inch wide from the tissue papers.
Scrunch them up by pressing them into a ball and then opening them up.
Stick them all around the plastic cup
Step 4. Cut strips of cardboard to make it look like logs
Place the cardboard strips under the cup.
Now place an LED tea light inside the cup and place it in a dark spot. Enjoy your glow-in-the-dark Prahlad bonfire!
Dhanteras Craft – Day 1 of Diwali
Diwali is celebrated over 5 days. Day 1, also called Dhanteras, is the day to go shopping!
Traditionally, people buy either pots and pans or jewelry. I have such fond memories of visiting the markets with my Mom and I tried very hard to capture that in our book as well.
Let’s celebrate Dhanteras by making this simple cardboard bracelet craft!
Step 1. Get some toilet paper or paper towel rolls. Cut a slit so that you can open and wrap it around your child’s wrist. I cut the roll in half to fit my kid’s wrist.
Step 2. Apply glue all over the cardboard.
Step 3. Use lots of decorative materials including gems and glitters. We especially loved using flower gems for this craft,
Step 4. Stick them all over the cardboard roll. We did them in horizontal stripes.
And your Dhanteras cardboard bracelet is ready!
