Colour Code

 Let it be any social/cultural gathering these days, be it a literary meet or a family get-together or one and/or all of the very many phases of the big fat Indian wedding, Colour code is the key word. Gone are the days when wearing the same colour and/or pattern would be thought of as being " band wallah's". The similar, the merrier is the password these days.

As a result, cupboards overflow with rainbow colours of clothes and  accessories of myriad modes and makes. Did Aai have such a privilege and prerogative, I wonder. Oh, yes, sure I know her favourite colour though. The option opened up in a casual chat about choosing something or the other. I forget the details. I do feel, however, that her colour preference reveals a lot about her self, her personality.

Her top most favourite colour was yellow. It is the colour of her favourite most flower, champak. It is the tint of the newly risen sun. It is the hue of the mustard fields in full bloom. In brief, the colour of hope, of new beginnings, of emergent well being and prosperities. That indeed was Aai's profile, too. She was an ever shooting fountain of hope, of enthusiasm, of positivity. Despite the very tough beginning imposed in the initial stages of her marital life, she was absolutely sure they both would finally have a win-win solution to most all problems and difficulties. And sure they did it.

Just as her preferred colour reflected her zest for life, it was the colour of royalty in her opinion. She was a Leo according to the lunar calendar. Be it the light golden skin tone of the kingly animal or its grace, she loved the uniqueness of her zodiac sign. She believed hence in a royal bearing, free of cheap meanness. Hence the choice of the background palette of this blog dedicated to her.  

Her colour code and its revelation of her inner being was truly apparent, I would say, in the later stage of her life. Once she dedicated herself to the "golden light" (her phrase and faith) of religion and spirituality, pale ochre ( a mix of light yellow and white) was her tone. She hated the white of the widow. The pale turmeric of health and purity became her new self. 

In a way, she needed no colour code. Like the limpid water that becomes the colour it is mixed with, she adapted herself to each context and every curve of her life. I would like to sign off this colour chronicle with the apt Bollywood song ,

"pani re pani 

tera rang kaisa

jis me mila do

lage us jaisa"

Pratima@colour code