Color And Feel
Colors carry feelings before they carry names. Long before a child learns to say red, the child already knows that ripe mango feels different from green chilli, that the sky after Maghrib is heavier than the sky at noon…
There is more than one way to understand this. If you have only been taught one, you have been taught less than you deserve.
There is more than one way to understand this. If you have only been taught one, you have been taught less than you deserve.
Colors carry feelings before they carry names. Long before a child learns to say red, the child already knows that ripe mango feels different from green chilli, that the sky after Maghrib is heavier than the sky at noon. Color is the first language. Today you will name three colors and notice what each one does inside you.
Sindh has a cloth called ajrak. Look at one once. The ajrak uses three main colors, deep red, deep black, and clean white. The red is the red of dried roses, of pomegranate juice, of the inside of watermelon. The black is the black of a clear winter night in Tharparkar. The white is the white of cotton, fresh and simple. Three colors only. From these three the whole pattern blooms.
Try a small game. Pick any one feeling you had today. Tired, happy, hungry, shy, brave. Now pick the color that feels like that feeling. There is no right answer. A child in Karachi might say happy is yellow. A child in Skardu might say happy is the deep blue of the lake. Both are right. Color belongs to the person who picks it. You are allowed to disagree with everyone else.
Estimated time: 10 min