The mornings and evenings were just filled with playing, but the long afternoons must have created problems for elders of how to keep some odd 16 cousins occupied happily indoors to save them from the heat. The elders liked to rest in the cool atmosphere of the newly invented (for India) water coolers, but the children would walk out on the smallest pretext, and were liable to getting heat strokes.



It was at that time we were first introduced to arts and crafts by one of my cousins, she was 14 years of age at the time. The memories are still very vivid in my mind of the small room where we all sat in with different groups tackling different craft equipment. Girls and boys alike, the division of work was done on the basis of age.

The senior most group could handle a needle so Omjiji (my cousin) taught us how to make a decent handkerchief out of a piece of cloth. She taught us running stitch and hemming to fold the sides of a hanky, then make a small flower in lazy dazy stitch, adding green leaves. What beautiful results we created and what fun it was comparing our work with each other.

The best part was the closeness it brought amongst us, and now as I see it the art sense we developed helps us even still today. What colours to use of the skeins, what designs were appropriate, all was discussed. Another batch was busy doing knitting, and I still get to tease my elder brother on how many times he had to open the scarf he knitted for himself because of untidy work. And thus the afternoons passed and we learnt a lot in those four hours of our various efforts.

The elders slept or conversed happily and the children developed a rare affinity, and acquired a sense of achievement from whatever they created. Now I think, most of the craft work has been taken over by machines. We wear ready made sweaters, we do not have self embroidered table clothes in the living room, which were so much appreciated and gave us such a sense of pride and satisfaction.

This summer I was elated to see the art and craft work done by my young grand children. It was astonishing as they went to various places during their summer holidays, and the best part was unlike most of the time when either they are sticking to the T.V. or complaining of being bored, they really enjoyed themselves.

Interesting how all the changes I have seen though out my life to see how crafts still have the ability to bring out an abundance of creativity among children.