Life is short & indeed sweet,
Smooth.. it’s not by a feet;
Ups & downs, twists & turns,
Might get all your fingers burnt;
Enjoy this life, highs & lows,
Take home a lesson from every blow;
Make time to smile & sow,
Seeds of goodness everywhere you go;
Midst of life’s abject murkiness,
Be the light to dispel all darkness.

‘Seeds of goodness you have to sow’, ….but I will always be there to help you dispel some darkness. A fauji wife’s darkest hours are when her husband goes to a Field area & brightest when he returns home safe & sound. And that brightness further takes a beautiful hue when he gets her a gift. Different gifts from different locations, all depending upon the topography.They range from rocks( not always compressed carbon, but igneous or sedimentary, artistically sculpted by nature), colourful corns, pines, pressed flowers, exotic bird feathers, porcupine quills, leopard teeth, …….Now it rests on the army wives’ able shoulders as to how she will display these simple but unique gifts proudly.

This time from my pati dev, it was a pair of deer horns. I did think of making a neck piece out of it like Angoolimaal or a headdress like the Gauls, but then better sense prevailed. Luckily the idea of a candle stand dawned. If the deer had the sense to shed its old horns to grow brand new ones, we too should, from time to time shed all our worries & light up our lives.

This is how I went about making my candle stand.

Deer horns.

A metal bowl to hold the candle and a fabricated wall mountable holder to hold the horn.

Fitted the horn into the holder and screw fit the bowl on top of the horn. The candle stand is ready to be mounted on the wall.

I made a pair of them.

So there, hone your skills with these horns and …… Let There Be Light.