Are you thinking of prompts to start writing? Well, prompts are not always heavy words or well framed phrases. A simple colour can make you wonder for hours and immerse you in a pool of memories.
Sharing one such colourful piece written while keeping the colour orange in mind. This blog has been created and posted by Sheenam Dhingra while the initial piece has been written as a part of our community writing project by Mr. Gurmeet Singh.
I think of planet Jupiter when I see the colour orange. The reason could be that I am inclined towards astronomy since childhood. Watching the sun rise at the Sukhna lake was my favorite activity during my college days. Today, it seems like an unachievable feat for me to wake at 4 AM and cycle to the lake. I would then jog the entire stretch of 4 kms, on way, to reach the Lake Club. Being a member of the club and also a sailor, I was allowed to take any boat I wanted to. Water sports were my favorite hobby. Sailing, sculling and rowing were the activities I enjoyed before the sunrise . I remember the colour of my sailboat named Pelican was also orange. Besides sports, my primary purpose to come in the wee hours was to see the sunrise. I used to observe the sunrise quite keenly while sailing. Slowly and steadily the orange disc would appear behind the Shiwalik hills and the whole landscape would be drenched in a deep orange hue.
I was so fascinated by the orange sunrise and its reflection that I bought my first professional camera, the Canon , to take pictures of the lake and sunrise. From this point onwards, I developed a keen interest in photography. Sometimes after jogging , I would climb down the steps of the track lining the lake, having already fixed my tripod, so as to not miss the elusive moments of a sunrise.
I remember the one instance when I had gone to last step to capture a shot with appropriate reflection. As I was busy focusing the lens a big fish jumped on the stair to eat something. I got scared and fell back holding my camera tightly. There were lots of water snakes in the lake. So thought it must be one of them.
Another flashback that comes to my mind when I think of orange is a very famous song from my school days ,“Mera Rang de Basanti Chola” from the movie “Shaheed”. It is the story of the sacrifices made by Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. Whenever I see orange it reminds me of this song. Also, the colour orange has great significance in Sikh history. This is considered to be the colour of sacrifice by the Sikhs. Even the Nishan sahib in Gurudwaras is of Orange colour. Sikhs always wore orange turban while going in the battle field signifying that they are ready to give sacrifice their life for war.
One painful as well as funny incident related to orange will always remain etched in my memory. We used to have a black dog that was very aggressive. He had bit me several times but hadnever caused any serious injuries. He was very lovable and extremely loyal to the family. One day after school one of my friends, Ashish accompanied me to my place. In those days we were more attached to nature. We used to play in the bushes or gardens with tall trees and bright flowers, sometimes with worn-out tires, twigs, stones and pebbles lying in the street. So on our way back home we picked up dry sticks lying near a bush and started playing with them on our way. We sat in the lobby, took some rest and drank water. Suddenly my friend got up and started hurling the stick in the air as if it were a sword. My dog that sat nearby felt insecure and attacked him. He bit him so furiously that Ashish was covered in blood and we rushed him to a doctor. After the treatment when we came home, Ashish was still in shock. In the meantime my mother who was away came to know about the incident. She went to his place to know his well being. “Do you want to eat anything, my son?”, asked my mother.“Yes, I want to eat an Orange”, was the reply.