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Monday, June 20, 2011

Colors





Colors

Why must something be always in black and white? No. It should not be in black and white. We need colors. Our world is so vibrant and beautiful because of the shades and colors around us. Color plays a very important role in our lives. It affects our thinking and sways our moods. It influences our appetite, blood pressure, emotions and actions. We cannot even imagine a world in just black and white or say any other two colors.

Things were not as colorful in my childhood as it is today. Many things were in black and white back then. Text books always came in black and white. I would yearn for them to be in color. It never happened in my days but my children could read from colorful text books. I remember the days when we went to studios to take our pictures. After the long wait we would be so happy to see those black and white photographs in which our pink frocks looked grey and our blue ear-rings looked almost black. I wished to see a photograph in color back then. My wish was granted. When I first had a color photograph taken my joy knew no bounds. Then it was time to crave for colors in Television. Black and white television was so boring. Lo behold! Mind power worked out and we had color television. Then came the era of mobile phones and I wished so much there would be some color in my mobile. It was a time when we had high respect for the Nokia 1110, so much that one of my Nokia 1110 was stolen.




Now, the phones capture colors better than my eyes can see. At times to see something clearly I first take a picture from my mobile, print it out and check for minor details. So another wish was fulfilled.


<--Picture of a tiny spider which was almost invisible to naked eye. The picture from Vivaz Pro showed it so clearly.


I am greedy. Now it was time to wish for a colorful computer monitor and printer. Off course I don’t have to tell you that my wishes were fulfilled again.

What has withstood the assault of colors in our world? Let me think. Since time and happenings have registered in my memory, the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel tower, Taj Mahal, The Stonehenge, Great Wall of China and many more such monuments have not changed colors. Good!


They have been spared the weird sense of colors people have developed for buildings now.

Wouldn't it be nice to see them in colors? I wish I could but then they are one of a kind and should not be tampered with. Lot of efforts has gone into building them and each must have a reason of their architect behind its choice of color. Who am I to wish for their change?

Since childhood there have been few animals I have wanted to see in colors. My mind power has failed me tremendously there and they have always been born in the same old white and black colors. Every time I read newspaper I wish to see headline reading Zebra born in peacock colors, a Siberian tiger which looks like a rainbow, a red penguin discovered in Antarctica or colorful Panda found on a tree. Papers have gone from being in black and white to color but the news I have been wishing for has not come out. I give up on the wish. Nature is good as it is. Who am I to question God?

I need to come up with an answer for the question, “What do you wish to see in color?” because I am writing this blog post for the contest 'Take flight with color' on Indiblogger where they asked us to write about what we would like to see in color. The contest is sponsored by HP Laserjet





I know what I want to see in color and it has been in my mind since I saw the movie. ‘Schindler's List’ is the movie I wish I could see in color. May be it was shot in black and white to give it a documentary look. The movie is very emotional and shakes you to the core. Steven Spielberg has used color wisely for the shot where you see the girl in red coat. It is a superb movie, very well made but still I wish I could see it all in color. The performance is outstanding but more than anything I appreciate the talent and love for the theme from Steven Spielberg himself. It is a movie directly coming out of his heart and touching ours.

I also wish to see the classic movie ‘Gone with the Wind’ in 3D color. The movie has been made in color but it is nothing compared to the quality of color we have now. I have been hooked on to Hollywood movies since watching that movie around 25 years ago. There have been other great classics which I have wished to watch in color like ‘Psycho’, ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Citizen Kane’. The most famous bathroom scene in Psycho loses some of its shocking ingredient when we see the blood flowing in grey. My interest in Hollywood classics was triggered by ‘quiz time’, a quiz show hosted by Siddhart Basu. While watching the television, I and my brother would try to compare our GK with the students on show. I could answer most of the questions he asked on the show but would get stumped when it came to classic movie clips they showed. So I started with Citizen Kane and went to watch more classics. I loved when least expecting Rhett Butler says to Scarlet, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”. Wow! After trying everything to win the love of the woman he finally walks off into the black and white mist with that most memorable dialogue I have ever come across. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh have given tremendous performance in their intensive roles of quest for love. I can still watch the movie all over again and feel the same excitement when Rhett Butler comes up with his famous dialogue.

There have been many movies in past 25 years which have at times left lasting impressions on me. But there are few movies which contain the shock element of ‘Schindler's List’. Though I am not a part of the events taking place, I go through the shame of being part of the same planet where such cruelty took place. Let us learn from history and let us not let such things happen again.

The Color of My Blog

When choosing the template for my blog the only conditions I had in my mind was that it should have a side-bar and should be in blue color. Blue has been my favorite color forever. It represents calmness and lack of strong emotions. Blue is one of the coolest colors. If not it would not be chosen for the ocean and the skies. The color has been a source of inspiration for me.

Different cultures have different significance associated with the color blue. Some believe it to bring peace, some believe that it drives away evil spirit and for some it conveys importance and confidence. Artists make use of the blue color to show perspective. It gives a feeling of distance. They say blue color gives out a vibration that helps in communication.

I use the color blue on my blog to give out feeling of calmness. It also encourages communication which is most needed for a blog. It says this blog is for peace. Live and enjoy the colorful world.




18 comments:

  1. Hi dear Farila,
    just wanted to let you know that i just re-followed you through my gmail profile this time.

    have a great week!
    betty xx

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  2. Lovely post and sentiments about colour, Farila. But somehow, I feel that Schindler's list will look best in B&W, not because it is a period film, but because of the topic.

    Good luck for the contest :-)

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  3. Hi,

    I saw your post and found that striking similarity earlier..Spielberg indeed made us think alike..

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  4. Hi,
    Great post.
    But Schindler's list was in color!
    That single shot of the girl and later her dress alone in color on a heap of clothes (if I remember right) is the most poignant point of movie.
    That was way better than using color through out the movie in my opinion.

    Saw that your post is popular in Indiblogger. I posted one too. Hope you like it.

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  5. @ Sairam- The movie I saw was shot in black and white and only the last few scenes were in color.
    I agree with Sudha, but since I have already viewed the b/w version, I wish to see it in color.

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  6. A very good thematically varied write-up. I wish you get to watch Lars von Trier's film Europa. You will understand why I wished it when you've watched it. All the best.

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  7. Farila.. Lovely post and your sentiments with colour and the reason for you blog colour are superb.. Calm, I agree.. Wish you colours for this contest.. and will my life be colourful

    Someone is Special

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  8. Wonderful post and beautiful write up as always... Good Luck Farila :)

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  9. Always a pleasure to read you Farida. Good write up. Best to you.

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  10. Congratulations on winning the contest. You deserve it.

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  11. Congratulations, Farida! I'm so excited for you (and proud OF you) for winning first place in HP's contest. The *grand prize*!!! It's lovely to see that your blog is receiving the recognition it is due.

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  12. Congratulations Farida! Well done!

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  13. Stands up and applauds - you really deserve it. Now am just waiting for you to win that "Change" contest!

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  14. Congratulations Farida! Well deserved winner

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  15. Congratulations on winning the Take Flight with color contest. No doubt this is a great post. Keep on writing for us.
    Regards,
    Arnab Ghosh.

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  16. congratz author..really a great post on colors. i like it..u deserved this win.

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  17. Thank you every one out there for the support. It feels good to win a contest.

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  18. 'schindlers list' is really a good movie, i havent seen but i read it on some website where it was in the list of Best Movies Ever!!!!
    Good Information :)

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