The New (Old?) 'Shauk'...

This is in continuation to my last post.

Couple of clarifications here - it may have sounded like a totally depressed post but it actually wasn't. I'm told I suffer a bit from exaggerat-itis.

But I was also touched by the number of people who commented, sent emails or just called over with suggestions to get rid of my evening ennui (But, we were just trying to stop you from writing so many posts...SHHHH)

This post is to let everyone know that i've re-discovered something.

Due credit needs to be given to AK for showing the way. Now AK is fulfilling all his childhood dreams and interests after starting work and getting married. So his house right now has numerous board games (Scotland Yard, Monopoly..you name it), he recently bought a beautiful all-aluminium bicycle (5 and a half grand - gulp). I wouldn't be surprised if he buys an X-Box or something soon (If you're reading this AK - thats an idea :) ).

So I decided to follow his "Bachpan ke saare shauk poore kar lene chahiye" philosophy ("Fulfill all your childhood interests"), I started thinking of what I loved doing when I was a kid. I mean, till my primary school days I used to absolutly love it so so much!

Painting, sketching, drawing - they used to take me into this whole other world where I was the only occupant - 'I was Legend' there (er...now thats a really really bad pun - but what the hell, its topical so i'll let it stay). I used to go almost into a dreamy trance while I painted. In fact, one of my earliest childhood memories is drawing a portrait of my Dad, I think on a Sunday because I remember dotting his jaw in the picture to denote his stubble :) . Another is of almost waking from a trance in art class to find my art teacher (I don't even remember his name now...bad) looking over my shoulder at my work. I had been totally oblivious to him, the other students, the school bell, the world at that time.

But then somehow, slowly and slowly I lost touch with what I loved so much. I can't blame anyone for this (my parents were very supportive - my Dad got lots and lots of paints and stuff when he returned from any trip abroad). But I guess I was the shy kid in class who needed a lot of encouragement. My primary school teacher gave me that, but my middle school teacher didn't and I sort of slid out of it and halted my learning curve.

And then I left Mount St. Mary's for Delhi Public School in class 9, and did the ultimate backstabbing to my first love. I got swayed with stupid words by some overtly academic kids (yeah, I know, DPS is full of them) who told me that only girls took Arts in SUPW (What!! where's the class, I'll go and join immediately! :) ) and the people who were serious about studies took 'useful' subjects. I went and joined Science club- which was as boring and dull as it sounds (Now don't get me wrong, science is very interesting, but the teacher taking it was really bad and sleepy).

Seriously, thats the one time when peer pressure came out in the open and affected my life.

Anyway, thats all in the past now, and the good news is that I got up early on Sunday with this urge to relive that trance I used to go into when I painted, and awesomely, I succumbed to it. Went out and bought all the stuff you need to paint, or atleast start painting. And i've done just that. I painted a very nice landscape and was pleasantly surprised to see that I still possess some skill.

I would've put it up here but I don't have a camera right now. But I promise I'll put up pieces that I do up here.

And yes, I didn't achieve that trance in my first painting, but then I have almost 14-15 years to unlearn!