The beautiful world of colour
I remember in the old days how black and white movies and
television shows kept us heartily entertained. In those days, television was a
relatively new concept and cable TV with more than 2 -3 channels an even newer
one. Fortunately or not (it’s the way one looks at it), I grew up at a time
when major technological changes were taking place.
Not only did TV become
coloured, the internet was born and took over the world and computers replaced my
best friends. Cell phones became my confidantes and trusted companions. Direct to home satellite TV turned into my favourite form of entertainment.
I also remember, how as a young school and later, college
going kid – the colour black and shades of dark blue or grey fascinated me. I
practically chose to wear nothing besides grey, dark blue and mainly black. The
advantage was that it took hardly less than 5 minutes for me to shop. All I had
to do when I entered a store was look at the small sized black tee shirts and I
was done.
It took years for my fascination with the colour to fade. I
liked my favourite colour so much, that I tried to match everything to it. This
resulted in most of my belongings being black, blue or grey. From my mobile
phone cover to my taste in music (which was and still is Rock).
If I were to ask myself why I spent so many years of my life
on black today, I will answer by saying that I was looking for some order in
the world and my life. There are so many things beyond our control, socially
and economically and practically! In India, traditions play an important role
in our daily life. In my younger days, our generation was a little lost between
growing into a modern world that relied heavily on past traditions. I don’t
know if anyone ever felt it, but I did. I was torn and confused between the
concept of “socially acceptable” and tradition and life. I found that there was
too much disorder in the order I sought. I mean, think about it, how many of us
spend our lives pleasing others, listening to others and following traditions
we do not know the meaning of.
Today, every time I ask an elder in the family
WHY we follow a certain ritual, they usually have no answer. If you don’t know why you do
what your elders told you to, why do you do it? Cause someone asked you to? But
then, does that justify the essence of doing it? Furthermore, is it really
humanly possible to follow everything someone else tells you when your life is
anyway so short that seeing everything and doing everything you want is
considered – bad.
I found society’s norms to be the best example of “double
standards”. Why live for the people who judge you? Sadly, we are so entwined
into trying to be, that we don’t be. In fact, we can’t be anymore.
So, I found solace in arranging the things within my reach,
because I couldn't arrange anything else around me. This meant the colour of my
clothes, bags, shoes, books, phones, computer etc etc etc.
But, for how long can you match your colours?
A couple of months ago, a year and half to be precise, I
began a new project. One wherein I decided to explore colours. Like a child. Children
are taught to play with colours and I was just learning how. My love for black
extended to a crush on purple. Soon, most of my things turned purple. After that,
I found beauty in the riches of bright red, deep maroon, lavender. The beauty
and colours of the world made me open my eyes to the different smells and
flavours of the world too.
Today, every time I get up in the morning and look for
something to wear, I begin by asking myself – what colour do I feel like today?
Last week, on a particularly normal day of the week, I felt
green. So I wore green. And guess what? A stray parrot that couldn't fly too
well strayed into my house and now my life. He sits here with me, every day. He
eats everything I give him and keeps singing to me. Who knows what life will
gift you when you choose your colour.
