Purpose!

As I stepped on the terrace of our apartment, I checked the time on my mobile phone screen. 5:40 AM. The sky was a mixture of orange, grey and white. I breathed in selfishly a large whiff of the morning air and began walking around the terrace. It had been more than a week since I had seen the sun rise from its slumber.

As I looked around trying to observe the morning life in the nearby apartments, my eyes caught the sight of a dove seated on a dish antenna, a few apartments away. It seemed to be in a meditative state. The sky behind it looked like a painting lavishly splashed upon with a can of orange. The patches of grey amidst the orange splash seemed to increase its beauty. A momentary smile appeared on my face before it disappeared. I repented having forgotten to bring along the camera and rushed below to my home to fetch it. One storey down from the terrace, I realized that I could have captured the piece of beauty with my mobile phone. I stood there, baffled as to proceed upwards or downwards. I do not know what made me proceed downwards but a few minutes later, I came back panting on the terrace with my camera only to find the dove flown away and the painting spoiled by blotches of white.

I relaxed for a couple of minutes. Then I began clicking random shots of the sky. I then paused and started searching around for specific images of beauty. A group of pigeons had gathered over the water-tank of a nearby apartment. As I tried to frame the shot, another image caught my eye. A saree clad lady, a reddish towel bundling the hair behind her head, was spreading wet clothes over a clothesline. From my position, the image seemed a potential for a beautiful silhouette photograph. I directed my camera towards her. I immediately lowered it down as I thought about the possible risk of my intention being misunderstood. I decided to let the image go.

A flock of birds hurriedly made their way over my head. I quickly raised my camera and captured an image. As I looked at the picture on the camera screen, I realized that a black-and-white picture of the same would create a more solemn atmosphere. I changed the mode and waited for another flock. The wait was not long. I followed the flock with my camera, clicking continuously as an airplane made its way into one of the images. Delight filled me as I looked at the image.

I kept roaming around the terrace, the camera leading my way for some more time. But then as I came to the spot from where I had first seen the meditating dove, I could see that the orange shade had nearly disappeared. Blue had begun to dominate. I lowered my camera and looked at the sky.

The camera had made me forget the real purpose of my visit to the terrace.  I placed the camera on the terrace wall and seated myself some distance away from it. My focus did not shift from the sky for some time as the shades of the sky slowly changed and the birds flew above in all the directions, not a care in the world.

As I began making my way to my home sometime later, a question suddenly popped in my head.

Was art making me forget the purpose of life?

A mildly terrifying feeling overcame me. I tried not to think about it and entered my home. My mom who was cooking called out to me. I entered the kitchen and she asked me excitedly to show the images I had captured. I handed her the camera and walked away. A couple of minutes later, she came to me and returned the camera saying that she would try to accompany me the next day to the terrace. She added that it had been a while since she had taken time to notice the beauty of sunrise. 

I smiled hearing her statement.

She had unintentionally cleared the frightening doubt that had overtaken me. 

I slowly placed my camera inside its cover and went ahead with the day’s duties that waited, having had a happy revelation.

Art can only make a person understand the purpose of life better. Never the opposite.