UPDATE: So overwhelmed to win this contest. Thank you Ciara O’Neal and Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez’s for this wonderful opportunity!

https://ciaraoneal.weebly.com/spring-fling-kidlit-contest

I am participating in Ciara O’Neal and Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez’s SpringFlingKidlit contest with this #ownvoices entry – “Anna, my favorite color is You”. I created my own gif for it.

But first, an Introduction:

Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, there is color everywhere. It’s springtime! And that also means it’s Holi time. Holi is the festival of colors celebrated in India, a spring time festival. On this day we celebrate by quite literally throwing color on each other until we look like a joyful spring scene ourselves. My inspiration for SpringFlingKidlit came from watching my kids play Holi. As I watched them play with the colors, I was transported back to my childhood – to the vibrant colors that fascinated me as a child. The raw mango, (kairi) with its fresh green, the red Manjadi (also knows as Guruganji) seeds we picked to play with, the brilliant Indian Blue Jay or Nilkanth, the sweet smelling Champa (Sampige) in our house, the beauty of Wild Daffodils known as Nargis all came flooding back. I hope to have shared that experience with you.

The bond between siblings is a special one. They are there for each other in a way even a parent cannot be. The way my younger one looks up to his Anna, his older brother, is special. So, as much as this piece is about colors, my memories of India, the spirit of Holi, spring, it is also about the bond between the two brothers.

So here’s “Anna, my favorite color is you.” I hope you enjoy it.

Vocabulary words:

Anna: Word for elder brother in many indian languages.

Lychee: A tall evergreen tree, the lychee bears small fleshy fruits. The outside of the fruit is pink-red, roughly textured and inedible, covering sweet flesh eaten in many different dessert dishes.

Manjadi seeds: Red colored seeds also know as circassian Seeds (U.S. & Britain) and jumbie Beads (Caribbean)

Champa: Champa is very well known flower native to India, and popular for its fragrant flowers.

Wild Daffodils: Commonly known in India as Nargis, daffodils are lilylike perennials with numerous narrow, straplike leaves, and a single flowering stalk. Flowers are usually yellow and white

Jay: The Indian Roller bird or Indian Blue Jay, coracias benghalensis, is commonly known in the country as Palapitta or Neelkanth, and is a protected species. This beautiful bird is easily spotted in southern and western India as well as in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Amma: Word for mother in many indian languages.

Anna, my favorite color is You.

Word count 148

Anna, remember, one day you asked me what my favorite color was? 

I just couldn’t decide!

When we plucked sour mango for Grandma’s pickle, 

my favorite color was green.

But later, when we ate sweet lychee, juice trickling down our hands,

I changed my mind –

It was pink!

When we scurried on our knees picking tiny Manjadi seeds,

it was red.

But when a magnificent Jay spread its wings and burst into flight above us,

it was blue.

When we wove Champa blooms into Amma’s tight braid,

it was orange.

But when we raced hand-in-hand through Wild Daffodil fields,

it was yellow!

But, Anna,

today,

as my cheeks touch yours,

and I feel the red, blue, yellow, pink

cover us, 

color us,

My heart sings –

It is Spring,

and I like them all 

as long as they color us both.

Anna, my favorite color is You.