Embers of hope
At the age of 23, Nisha stood alongside her mother, gazing into the flickering flames of the sacred Holi fire. In her hands were the remnants of her past—a stack of shredded to-do lists and job applications she'd desperately sent out throughout the tumultuous year. As a professional graphic artist who graduated from a prestigious global university, Nisha had high hopes for her career. Unfortunately, she entered the job market in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought hiring freezes and closed many doors. Despite the setbacks, she refused to surrender to despair. However, as time went on, fatigue and disappointment began to weigh her down. In a symbolic act of letting go, she cast her worries into the roaring fire. As she stood there in the dark with her mother , watching the golden embers rise from the crackling pyre , her moods lifted and the shroud of gloom and despair that had cloaked her, started slipping . The golden embers were swirling upward like f...