From video games to bangles, kids give Eidi their own meaning

Lucknow: As Eid celebrations recede and Lucknow returns to its usual rhythm, the city is left with quieter, more intimate stories of what the festival means to children. In homes across neighbourhoods, Eidi, the small cash gift traditionally given to children on Eid, has become more than a festive token. It is turning into a window into their wishes, affections and values. In Gomtinagar, six-year-old Mohd Yusuf greeted his Eidi with the kind of excitement only a long-awaited dream can bring. The moment his grandfather placed the neatly folded note in his hand, Yusuf had already made up his mind. "I am not going to spend it on anything else. This is for my video game. I have wanted it for so long, and now it's finally mine," he said. For 11-year-old Wali Jafar, however, Eidi meant an opportunity to give rather than receive. Thinking first of his mother, he decided to spend his money on a gift for her. "Ammi likes Kashmiri bangles. I want to buy them for her," he said. Ali Ashraf, also 11, has chosen something entirely different. He plans to use his Eidi to bring home a pet rabbit, imagining not just the purchase but the companionship that comes with it. "I will bring a rabbit, a soft and white one. I will take care of it every day," he said. Iqra Iqbal (6) wants a dollhouse she can share with her sisters, Faizia and Inaya, while Anabia Naushad (7) has stayed committed to buying clothes for household, a decision her mother said she had made well before Eid.