Inara Manaye Diwali: A Punjabi and English Rhyme for Little Children

ਇਨਾਰਾ ਮਨਾਏ ਦੀਵਾਲੀ is a small rhyme for small children. On every page two more people in the family get the house ready for Diwali. Mumma fills a bowl of kheer. Papa hangs the lights. Didi arranges the tray of lamps and Veera lights the sparklers. Chacha sets off the firecrackers and Chachi hands round the laddu. And every time, Inara celebrates Diwali with two more of them. Every page has three lines: One in Punjabi, in Gurmukhi script. One in English letters, so you can read it out loud even if you do not read Gurmukhi. >The rhyme repeats, so a small child starts saying the line with you before the page turns. That is how the words stay. This book also marks Bandi Chhor Divas, the day Sikh families keep on the same night, with lamps lit at the Gurdwara. At the back there is a page of Diwali words to learn, a page for each person in the family, and a rangoli to colour in. Written for children growing up far from Punjab, and for the people who put them to sleep at night.