So Much For Colour

It is difficult to imagine life without colours , as mother Nature has spread colours all around us in various shapes and forms.It is our constant endeavour to add colours to our lives through celebrations of various kinds. Little doubt that we have in India, Holi, the festival of colours.

For no particular reason , I have a liking for yellow colour and its various shades. Perhaps we all have a preference for one colour or the other. I am told that persons who have a liking for the yellow colour have spiritual bent of mind or some such inclinations , which in my case is only partly true. I am also told that persons in my league are susceptible to stomach ailments, which in my case is almost true. Somehow , this remains my favourite colour -perhaps it appears to me visually appealing. Yellow coloured capsicum , to me , is a visual treat .The colour yellow, when worn , is said to lift the sagging spirits and is a symbol of warmth, optimism and light. People have fads about wearing dress of a particular colour on different days of the week and yellow is earmarked for Thursdays. Otherwise the word yellow is prefixed to so many words and it assumes different connotations , some of them not flattering at all. However, Basanti ,(saffron) a shade of yellow symbolizes Spring season and also is a symbol for sacrifice . The famous song associated with Sardar Bhagat Singh, the martyr, “ Mera rang de Basanti chola…………” is a case in point, as also the bollywood movie “Rang De Basanti”.

Yellow pages in a directory are considered carrying useful information, while yellow journalism , which stands for sensationalism, is a repugnant term.

You may embrace yellow but yellow should never embrace you. This is a caution I have to give to whosoever reads this.

“Sawan ke andhe ko hara hi dikhai deta hai” or its English version “Every thing looks pale to a jaundiced eye “ says it all, as I have learnt from my personal experience.

Some three years back, I had a bout of illness and fell a victim to - of all things- yellow fever or jaundice. And it was yellow colour which became the most disturbing. Pity my son , who had no other pastime than watching the television , had to switch it off so as not to give me creeps, as the screen appeared to me predominantly yellow, much like the Eastman color movies of yore and the sound appeared no less jarring, may be due to my near anaemic condition , which makes one less tolerant of things around. In the newspaper, that I subscribed to, pages carrying classified advertisements were virtually painted yellow. Thank God, this aversion to color yellow lasted only as long as my illness and with recovery and recuperation, returned my old liking for it.