Of People and Places

Sometimes, I have to scout long and hard to find a composition that would be good to sketch. Most of the times, I have to edit the scene - add a bush here, remove a tree there, add a person there, remove a light pole here. But on rare occasions like these, there are some beautiful elements all ready for you, waiting to enter your sketchbook, inviting you to park yourself in a shady nook and put pen to paper. For company, there is a drongo close by who seems to be unafraid of humans, he swoops down to see how I am making my progress and returns to this fork in the tree that he seems to love. There is a kingfisher who flies away as soon as I draw close. There are several sunbirds feasting on the flowers. There are boys playing cricket, intent on their game. But what company does a person need when there is a palash tree close by ?  

Dear  Palash, I didn’t pay much attention to you until a friend said we could do a Bhopal Palash trail on bikes to watch you and your sisters bloom.  I was curious to know what you looked like. And I imagined whole roads being transformed by your vibrant beauty as one by one, all of you opened up your hearts to changes in the season while the wind whispered sweet nothings into your leaves. But it was not meant to be. With the lockdown, and having to stay indoors, there was no chance that I could meet you. I put all thoughts aside. After all, there were bigger things to think about – such as the collective helplessness my race is feeling, battling an unseen, unknown enemy.   O ne day when I managed to wake up from my preoccupation, there you were, right behind me. A burst of orange clawing through the sky. I have tried in these past three weeks to capture your beauty, and failed miserably. Undaunted, I have tried again, yet again. Every time I fa...