They decorated diyas, created rangolis and danced their hearts out. Little Einsteins, the pre-school and day care centre in CF Block, simulated an early Diwali where kids got a feel of the festival even before celebrating it at home.

Eeshan Srivastava, seven, decorated his diya with glitter and held it up proudly. “Diyas are an important part of Diwali but I also love fire crackers. My favourite is tubri,” he smiled.

Bihaan Roy, 8, knew how to make rangolis as he said he had learnt it at an earlier workshop. Those like Anshelm Tony Rajan and Naavya Maheshwari loved dancing the most, to songs like Happy Diwali and London thumakda. Given that the kids were as young as two years old, dance teacher Satya Singh performed the steps for them to follow.

The teachers, led by co-ordinator Tannistha Ghosh, had decorated the ceilings with colourful dupattas and walls with flowers. “At this age, lights and colours are what appeal to kids the most,” said Nidhi Kayal, who runs the institute. “We take in kids from the age of five months and there is no upper age limit. Kids spend so much time with us that this is their second home. So it’s only fair that they also celebrate Diwali with their family here.”

Brinda Sarkar