Abhay's colorful pencils

I’m not sure if the advantages of having a working mom outweigh the disadvantages, but like everything else – it has its pros and cons too (or at least I’d like to believe so!) We all know the cons – not being around all the time. For instance, I work on Saturdays whereas Saturdays are off for Abhay; Today was a holiday for Abhay for Maha Shivratri, but I had to work half day. Having been brought up by a working mom, I know that there are definite advantages of not having your mom around all the time. Of course, I didn’t realize it then…..but do value it now. When my mom was away at work, I took to reading and discovered the wonderful world of books. So when I had to spend my mid-term vacations alone at home, I didn’t feel lonely but had a book to keep me company. I can say the same for Abhay who  I see is always immersed in his drawing and coloring books, as I return home from work. So much so, that unless and until he has turned in three colorings/drawings in a day, he is not happy! Abhay was always into drawing/coloring and ever since I have begun work, he is ‘drawn’ to it even more! So…hopefully Abhay too will give me credit for his interest in art just like I credit my mom for my interest in reading!

I guess Abhay is not the only to be fascinated by crayons and there are many more who share his passion. Today we read about one such girl in “My Colourful Pencils” by Maasoumeh Ansarian and illustrated by Fatemah Fazel, a Level 2 Early Reader by Pratham publications. A little girl is cross that no one at home has the time to play with her. Her mom gets back from work and heads straight to the kitchen to fix dinner; Her dad gets home and relaxes with a newspaper in hand; Her brother returns home to lots of homework. Upset, she lies on the floor with eyes closed when suddenly something falls on her foot and when she opens her eyes, it is a green pencil who offers to play with her. Then one by one, blue, yellow and red pencils jump down from the table and all of them play a drawing game. The little girl is unsure at first but the color pencils reassure her and help her draw her mommy – green pencil draws mommy’s skirt, yellow pencil draws her blouse, brown pencil draws mommy’s long hair and finally green pencil gives the finishing touches. When the picture is done, the girl runs up to her mom to show the same. Her mom is astonished to see her daughter’s blossoming talent and hangs her picture by the kitchen cupboard. The girl feels encouraged to draw more and ends up making wonderful sketches of her father and brother.  When they both seem surprised and ask her how she managed to draw such beautiful pictures, she winks at her colorful pencils and says “The Colorful pencils and I did it” So Abhay - what did you and your colorful pencils draw today?