Sunday, January 22, 2012

She Believed She Could So She Did

There are so many colors in India. That's something that I have taken a notice to while walking the streets of Kolkata. I'm constantly amazed by the palette and hues that surround me daily. The Sari's of the women in Kolkata range from deep purple to turquoise to melon green to fiery orange to butter yellow to classic black and so on. The paintings and designs on the bus and auto rickshaws are cartoon-like and bold. The range of color schemes among the markets continue for eternity. The one word that comes to mind when thinking of Kolkata and thinking of color is technicolor. This is such a wide ranging word, but it also encompasses various elements. I have decided that my life in India will be one that is technicolor.

It will have numerous colors of bold to dramatic to pastel to neon to classic to shimmery to literally whatever colors exist in this world. I have never been someone who is a black and white viewer, and I've always thought of this as a fault at times. Still, I think that viewing the world in a technicolor lens will prove quite awesome in India. This doesn't mean that I'll be strutting rose-colored glasses and looking at the world from an ignorant or blissfully unaware optic. Trust me, I will never be able to be ignorant or blissfully unaware for as long as I live. Instead, I will use this technicolor lens to transform my world. I used to consistently get reprimanded for not coloring inside the lines to which I always thought, "Why do I have to stay within the lines? If this is art class doesn't it mean that I can do whatever I want?" Well, there will be no lines in Kolkata. Everything will be beyond limits.

I met with the woman of our service learning site yesterday and she was explaining Prayasam as a tool to empower the youth through innovative and creative methods. While walking through their building, the walls were lime green, orange and sky blue. There were several murals and collages covering the walls. This inspired me even more to pursue this technicolor lens. With this lens I will be able to not only empower myself but to also empower the youth that I'll be hanging out with every day. There is freedom in erasing the lines and there is awe-struck wonder in painting with any color or a combination of colors that you choose.

This is a photo that I think captures the
technicolor aspect of India.

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