Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Colours


Many years back I watched an episode of “The Amazing Race” in which the participants came to India, I think it was either Kerala or Tamil Nadu. The female part of the team was amazed to see so many colours, and she said something like “Red, yellow, red, yellow, everywhere it’s red and yellow.” The Indian streets are indeed full of red and yellow, right from the yellow autorickshaws to the bright red gulmohar trees, from the red sindoor to the yellow paste on the foreheads of priests and devotees.

You must all have heard about the different properties possessed by each colour, for example blue is for calm and tranquility, red for passion, green for harmony, white for purity and so on. If you ask me what my favourite colour is I would say “Depends.” Which is pretty much my answer to everything (Who’s your favourite author? Depends. What’s your favourite food? Depends.)

When I was a child I hated pink. And orange. The only colour I remembered liking was blue. In my fifth birthday photo I wore a blue skirt (I don’t know what the material was called but it was real soft and fell in folds). Unfortunately it was a black and white photo, but I still remember that skirt vividly, its exact shade of blue and the little red flowers sprayed on it. Green and yellow fought for second place, but most of the time green had the upper hand. Reds and pinks I had a few, I can’t recall having a single black (what mother makes her daughter wear black anyway?)

In my teens I favoured brown (ugh such a drab colour, now I avoid it completely). I started wearing pink and orange in my twenties (oh God my twenties! I sound positively middle aged), and purple, ahh such a magnificent colour, no wonder royalty was such a big fan. It is now one of my favourite colours, along with new entries like gold and sea-green. I am not much of a black person, but I admire its versatility and timelessness. You can never go wrong with black. On the other hand I love white - its purity, freshness and cleanness. And yellow for the sunshine it brings, for making you feel alive and happy.

17 comments:

  1. Hmm... that means you were a calm child, became a bit drab in your teens, got lively in your tweens, and turned clean, fresh and sunshiny warm now?

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  2. I hope you won't answer "Depends" if somebody you love asks you, "Will you marry me?" :D

    As for me, I loveeeee Black. Don't know why though... *GRIN*

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  3. I think it was Fardeen Khan who once said "When i doubt, wear black!" So, Black for me too.. Makes it simple.
    In a country where people wear yellow florescent saris, colors are indeed bright and abundant.

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  4. mesjay - Your analysis is quite true, you have just summed me up in two lines. Isn't it amazing how your colours can define the person you are?

    Kima - Imagine this scenario:
    Romeo : I love you, Juliet. Will you marry me?
    Juliet : Ah..um... Depends....
    Romeo : Depends on what?
    Juliet : Do you really really love me and truly want to marry me? Or do you just think you love me because of my amazingly good looks? Or are you just after my father's money?
    Romeo : I truly love you, Juliet. You know I don't care about your looks or your father's money. All I want is you.
    Juliet : Hmph.. so you're saying I'm ugly.
    Romeo : No, my love, you are more beautiful than all the stars put together, than all the sunsets and full moons and.. and ... more than anything in this world.
    Juliet : But you don't care, right?
    Romeo : No, my heart, you got it all wrong....
    Juliet : Hmphh... first you said I'm ugly, now you're saying I'm wrong. That is why I won't marry you.
    (Juliet flounces away)
    Romeo : But... but...that was not what I meant at all!!!
    (Romeo punches his head and runs after Juliet


    blackestred - It is indeed a colourful country. And talking about bright saris, just watch a group of dressed up women, I'm sure you will find all the colours of the rainbow and more.

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  5. Colours - one of the trivial thoughts that do slip past my mind whenever I open my cupboard and decide on which T-Shirt to wear. I prefer Black because I feel that any other colour makes me stand out - Black paints no picture of me for other people to read, hence it motivates them to find out! You have just given me the urge to rename my blog as "Insights to Insanity" :D

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  6. Andy - So you prefer black because of the mystery and anonimity . To tell the truth I didn't know guys actually spend time deciding which colour T-shirt to wear, I just assumed you wear whatever is clean!! And black seems to be quite a hit with the guys here. Btw, thanks for swinging by.

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  7. Purple!! Yes!!! :-))

    next would be Pink, and then blue for me. I wear black if i want to look lean. White makes me look fat.

    nice Romeo n Juliet up there. I'm sure kheema would love it :-D

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  8. Mimi - My three favourite colours of the moment! Purple for being so beautiful just by being purple, pink for making you look feminine instantly, and blue is an all-time chart topper. And I do love to twist my Romeo & Juliet around a bit.

    (P.S. I'm at my wit's end about the follow up thing.)

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  9. Blue has always been my favourite colour. But my wardrobe is somehow devoid of blues, while the bathroom, all plastic wares and plates are varying shades of blue. My husband asked me once, 'Are we only going to buy blue things?' :)

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  10. About maybe 70% of my wardrobe is in black. It's just such a versatile colour though not neccessarily a favourite. I like bright yellows, reds, purples, most pastels but when it comes to buying clothes, shoes, bags, etc, I go home with blacks. Go figure.

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  11. diary - Maybe you liked the colour blue but subconsciously you didn't like it on your body?!!

    J - I think that's one of the symptoms of Aizawlitis - wearing lots of black. When I was there for Christmas I went shopping and when I looked at the crowd 90% of them wore black.

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  12. I remember just one blue satiny dress I had when I was a kid. The closest to blue in my closet is aquamarinish. Maybe you're right, I don't like it blue on my body :P

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  13. Thank God we're all 'Non-Colourblind' like de ole cow

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  14. diary - Maybe it's about time you start wearing more blue.

    Anonymous - Which cow are you talking about? The one that jumped over the moon? Or the one that Jack gave away?

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  15. Naute! hian eng pawh ziak se a ziak ngainawm thiam anih hi. Senior tawh lam color a awm an ti. Senior tawh lamah chuan kawr colourfull deuh2 hak tur an ti

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  16. vana - Va ti lawmawm thin e aww!! Am'rawhchu colour te chu colour a lawm alawm, senior tawh lam ek e bal e tih a awm lo

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