Skimble-Scamble: Holidays, without plans, and a lot of paint:

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Holidays, without plans, and a lot of paint:

I always prepare my holidays in advance. If I get two days leave, then getting an answer to that knock on my front-door is futile; I vanish from my apartment.

But then, suddenly, in the middle of a September week, I got these two days of holiday. I knew Wednesday would be a festival-holiday (I had marked it with a J on my office calendar); however, we got an extra day off, thanks to fuel-hike (boo!), FDI and retaliation. And though I love my holidays, here I was, without any plan.

Most of my friends work for firang clients, which means these holidays are non-existent for them; and while they slog in office, I chuckle at them and gain sadistic pleasure when they mock at me. But it also meant that I was the lonesome joyous jester and couldn’t think of anything bright to do. For half a day, I tried to consciously keep my nagging mind at bay. (“Yea, my dear mind, I know I should clean up the mess around my house but let’s postpone this to next weekend, shall we?”)

And with ever-growing heaviness and a sinking sense, I decided to take out my paints. Let’s mess up some more when I have to clean it next weekend, all the same!

Lately, I have started painting… again… I didn’t seriously paint during law-school. It wasn’t the lack of time but the abundance of opportunities that a college-life provides. Painting was the last thing I wanted to do and it would be my forte only when college-week would start and I needed those prizes (to show my folks that I’m not that worthless) and those extra attendance for participating in the college activities.

After the first layer of paint

Anyway, since I started off again, I had been posting my art-stuff on facebook (I show-off, yes, thank you) and seriously, I was quite alarmed (yes! Alarmed!) seeing the number of people liking it. I thought, and I still think, my art is pretty primitive. Nonetheless, people around me have started commissioning work, and since I try to be a nice person, I have promised to paint their desires.

One such commissioner has been my boss (gulps!). When she came to know of my art, she asked if I could try a piece on her two daughters. Now, when the boss asks, the request becomes a sort of duty in my mind, so I nodded… though I cautioned her that the results might not be very impressive…

So, here I sat, on my floor, two days of holiday, a lot of paint around and a photo of my boss’ daughters gleaming on my monitor.

I should let you know I have never painted children before, that I am not particularly fond of children and that I have quite forgotten what a child likes or thinks during her childhood. That being said, I am pretty impressed that I came up with the entire gamut of rainbows, blue-bells, frangipanis, butterflies, and made it look like I am still a 6-year old in my head.