Rashmi's Space

Its Diwali time! And am sure preparations are on in every household. Sweets, snacks, lights, kandeel, diyas , crackers, gifts, shopping and what not!  We are all preparing for the baap of all festivals – the biggest and the best and the most fun! Children and adults alike, are super excited to celebrate this lovely festival of lights and love! From receiving a thorough cleaning, to being adorned with beautiful fairy lights and diyas ; as our homes get decked up for this enchanting festival, our hearts too are looking forward to meeting our near and dear ones!  And for those of our loved ones who are far; we have ensured that they know no matter how far they are; we are thinking of them in this time of celebration by sending them our love in the form of our messages and gifts! (This has become all the more easy and even fun; what with online shopping becoming the way of life in our country!) But in this entire hullabaloo, are we forgetting something? Are we bein...

"Wow! This is so lovely! How do you draw it so well Amma?" Anshi asked, looking at the  rangoli with huge brown eyes that only a six year old could have. Simran looked at her daughter and smiled. Right now she was the centre of Anshi's world, she knew, and anything she did was amazing and too good in Anshi's eyes. Although she also knew that this would soon change. But right now, she was happy being the 'world's best Amma!'  Simran smiled and asked "You like it?" And then she beckoned her daughter, "Come here, why don't you help me with a bit of colour too? Would you like to do the green colour?" Needing no further invitation, Anshi jumped off the shoe-rack she was sitting on and started filling in the green colour right in the centre of the rangoli Simran had drawn.  Diwali was two days away and the school had shut for a week. Simran was only too happy to spend the festive time with her daughter. They had started...