Creating Moments of QUIET
It was just another long, busy Wednesday. After work, I carried my black and white dhurrie - the one with the alternating black and white stripes along its length, an inch and a half thick solid black border and white tassels at either ends - to my study. I spread it out just inside the balcony door and lay on it. The dhurrie was barely 3 feet long and, as I rested my head on my arms folded under my neck, I felt the cold bite of the vitrified tiles. I wished the in this house (and every house) was wood. It would have made all the difference as I looked out the door, straight up at the 7’o clock sky.
It was clear and a monotonous gray. Not a steely , industrial sort of gray but softened by the blurry outlines of clouds just beneath. I noticed the various lights being turned on or off in the building across. A proof of life close by. It is a comforting thought when you stay by yourself. The dissonant sounds on a busy M G Road and nearabout created a cacophonic backdrop to my soliloquy. I was intrigued by the ‘unorchestrated-ness’ of this moment. Everyone part of this scene I was taking in - honking in the distance or turning on a light in their living room - were merely going on about their lives, but in this moment were part of mine too. The objects around me were also an integral part of this moment. The floor and dhurrie I was lying on, the door with the fluted glass half open that facilitated the sky-watching, the plants that I grow in my balcony, the scented candle that was flickering mysteriously inside a tea light holder, to name a few, were all playing important roles. They were adding to the nuances of this experience. But none of it was planned.
The unpretentious dhurrie belonged under a sofa in my living room to save my feet from the perpetual cold sting of the vitrified tiles. I had picked it up at a handicraft exhibition a long while back. It was sold by an even more unpretentious man who had handwoven it. The candle and tea light holder nestle against a wooden framed mirror that I had picked up years ago in a small antique store in Bangalore that has shut its doors during the pandemic. The tea light holder was a gift from a previous client from Good Earth, a home decor brand that I absolutely love. How such a motley mix came together to create that perfect little moment for me.