The Rainbow Of Life: A Memoir and Other Stories

Sara, a silent observer of lives around, recalls her childhood memories which were like the colors of the rainbow, bright, beautiful, merry and peaceful. Such calm and happiness could prevail because of the immeasurable parental love Sara and her siblings received from their parents. There were no affectations. As copper is mixed with gold to shape them into ornaments, their love was mixed with discipline, gentle guidance, and a pat on the back, but never a push to excel. As a result, each child’s personality was moulded to the brim with self esteem, and they turned out to be strong women, with their backs erect and head held high, yet gentle and considerate to the feelings and needs of others, putting others before them and quite often sacrificing their whims and needs in silence. Their lives are worthy of mention. Doesn’t Krishna teach the dissolving of ego? They saw an embodiment of His teachings in their gentle father his measured words echoing in their ears and their mother’s disciplinary measures. Sara also draws upon her imagination to spin other stories, giving expression to her views she would not accept any other bringing herself before the curtain to proclaim her views. About the Author Saras Balakrishnan was born in the year 1943 to the Sivaram Iyer family, Palghat Brahmins from the South of India. Her father was a banker with the Imperial Bank of India who was frequently transferred from place to place on work. The children moved with the parents until they were old enough to be in Boarding school. Saras was married to E. Balakrishnan in 1966. They had two children. Also a banker, her husband did well in his career, and was transferred frequently within India and abroad. He encouraged her to pursue a career as a teacher and fully supported her as his life partner. Saras taught at various schools in India and Tokyo where she lived with her husband for seventeen years. Prior to that, they also lived in Singapore for four interesting years. After the recent demise of her husband, she decided to relive memories of her life and picked up her pen to write. Thus evolved her first book, “The Rainbow of Life”.