One of the hardest things about preparing for this trip (because my visa was granted immediately - thank god) was finding appropriate attire. Something to cover me from head to toe, to meet the modest cultural standard, while beating the potentially oppressive heat and humidity. The hard part was to also meet those requirements with color. As my wardrobe consists of black…then more black, with a smidge of tan and a splash of red.
India is widely known for being one of the most colorful countries in the world from color-rich saris, to the spices, to the color blast festival of Holi. Even the animals are colorful. Peacock anyone?
What’s more? Color has deep meaning. As ingrained as we historically equated blue with boys and pink with girls. Color represents life blood and passion (red), death and purity (white), destruction (black), and more. Color is also intimately associated with deities.
The interplay of texture, sheen, sparkle, curvature is much like the thousands of years of cooperation and navigation amongst diverse native cultures. Or in modern times the organized chaos of traffic - no lanes, no lights, no problem! Few accidents or cows injured in the process. Maybe a squirrel, or 6 - but apparently they make fabulous paint brushes. (More cow detail forthcoming. I’ll spare you Indian squirrel stories)
If America is a melting pot, India is tapas. Delectable flavors that mix and match beautifully. As I sit overlooking the lake in Udaipur, I hear the 6th night of Navaratri celebration on my right, a traditional Indian band with a fire dancer in a purple and pink sari in front of me and, in the distant left, a Muslim call to prayer.
India may have changed my perspective on color. And for more of us, might just change our perspective on the rich tapestry of life itself.
India is widely known for being one of the most colorful countries in the world from color-rich saris, to the spices, to the color blast festival of Holi. Even the animals are colorful. Peacock anyone?
What’s more? Color has deep meaning. As ingrained as we historically equated blue with boys and pink with girls. Color represents life blood and passion (red), death and purity (white), destruction (black), and more. Color is also intimately associated with deities.
The interplay of texture, sheen, sparkle, curvature is much like the thousands of years of cooperation and navigation amongst diverse native cultures. Or in modern times the organized chaos of traffic - no lanes, no lights, no problem! Few accidents or cows injured in the process. Maybe a squirrel, or 6 - but apparently they make fabulous paint brushes. (More cow detail forthcoming. I’ll spare you Indian squirrel stories)
If America is a melting pot, India is tapas. Delectable flavors that mix and match beautifully. As I sit overlooking the lake in Udaipur, I hear the 6th night of Navaratri celebration on my right, a traditional Indian band with a fire dancer in a purple and pink sari in front of me and, in the distant left, a Muslim call to prayer.
India may have changed my perspective on color. And for more of us, might just change our perspective on the rich tapestry of life itself.
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