|
Talking About Rainbows…..
Today I will devote a few pages to my dear friend Shernaz Wadia. Here’s her brief profile :
A retired teacher, Shernaz is on an internal journey to find the Highest Truth. Based in India, she loves peace at any cost (a Libran to the core) and believes that no matter what life and the world spring at you, you must always be true to yourself. Life is beautiful and one must learn to live it with an attitude of gratitude. She loves to read particularly autobiographies and other non-fictional works. She dabbles in poetry-writing as a means of self-expression.
Now here is a recent posting of Shernaz in Muse – an e-magazine :
Opinion
By Shernaz Wadia, May 14, 2009
Pune, shernazwadia@aparnaonline.com
(Having read the poem on rainbow, I was reminded of this piece I had written in July 2004.)
Paradoxically, words and language are very restrictive. Each time I want to articulate a deep thought, transmit a feeling or describe something that has moved me unabashedly, words become impotent. Vocabulary dries up, phrases and sentences, figures of speech – all evaporate and I am left, well, expressionless – mutely pregnant, the poignancy of an unwanted abortion looming menacingly over my wanting-to-be-birthed experiences.
Shackled by the throttling confines of idiom and expression, I still want to share an indelible experience of rainbows. Yes rainbows. A rather common occurrence during the monsoons, but these particular ones left us speechlessly ecstatic.
The rainy season had set in earlier than usual this year in Munnar. The rain came with a chilling wind driving it in white sheets. Sometimes a thick, visually impenetrable shroud of mist encompassed the surroundings, with temperatures falling low. One fine afternoon when the rain decided to call it a day and the sun shone through the clouds, a spectacular rainbow embraced the sweep of the eastern sky with its enchanting, pastel-hued arm. The next day the rain gods again wanted some rest. We were strolling in the garden enjoying a soft drizzle, taking in the sparkle of raindrops on the washed and gleaming leaves, petals and blades of grass. The garden and the verdant environs were lusciously enrapturing. Intermittent clouds and sunshine created a bewitching aura all around. Impulsively I looked up at the sky. A phenomenon I had not seen before filled my wondrous gaze. A brilliant rainbow ring formed right around the partially hidden sun! Riveting, amazingly grand! Unbelievably ravishing!
It was a veritable banquet of fantastic rainbows in two days but none of us had envisaged what we saw on the fourth day. It was unbeatable, indescribable in its extravaganza!
It was a very wet, gray day as we lazed in the bungalow on the Chokanad Tea Estate. Green, tea-planted hills gently sprawled in front and to the right of the bungalow; high, forested hills formed a charming backdrop to these emerald ones. To the left and stretching to the back, tall hills were carpeted with thick undergrowth of shrub and their towering silver oaks swayed precariously in a stormy wake. A blanket of dark rain-clouds covered the mountains to the right towards the southwest. Rain poured incessantly and like a magic wand transformed the not-so-distant mountains and trees into hazy indistinct shapes. After a good lunch, there wasn’t much to do except take a nap and wait for the weather to clear up.
Suddenly through the gloom the sun decided to show up. I heard an enthralled scream “Rainbow! Come quickly, its beautiful!” Flinging away blankets, throwing aside whatever each one was doing, we dashed out.
And, we stood transfixed, suspended in a momentous timeframe, dumbstruck by the grandeur of the fabulous pageant unfolding before us! Painter and painting fused in a florid dance of colors across the vista of hills. A magnificent rainbow rose from the low hills, arched up into the higher ones and traversing the expanse fell again into the low hills of the plantation. Resplendent, it bathed all it spanned in its flamboyance, producing a stupendous panorama at eye-level! As it splashed and curved dazzlingly across the hills each hill was suffused with the rich, lustrous hue/hues of the gorgeous seven, creating a feast never before visualized by any of us five glued to that exquisite manifestation of nature! The sheer magnanimity and its unparalleled loveliness compelled us to look for the mythical pot of gold at either end. As with childlike exuberance we gazed at this stunner, the only words that came to mind were the memorable ones from a vintage song sung by Mukesh –
Yeh kaun chitrakaar hain, yeh kaun chitrakaar?
(Who is this painter? Who is He?)
We reveled in this mesmerizing marvel for minutes before it softly dimmed, reappeared in its entire mind blowing radiance and then finally faded, but not from our memories. Imprinted though it is like a photograph on the canvas of my mind, words fail to do justice to the sublimity and majesty of those awe-struck moments. In the words of a contemporary of Mirza Ghalib:
Mere alfaaz mere dushman hain
Meri zubaan meri hareef hain
“My words are my enemies
My language is my rival”
The posting was very well received and appreciated
Here is my response to the posting :
Dear Shernaz, as marvellous as ever. That Mukesh song you have quoted has taken me to a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Yes that Supreme Being up there is a Master painter. I too have seen a rainbow but were I asked to narrate about it, I would have failed to express it so beautifully as you. Great ! Thanks ! Yes, before I stop, here are the full lyrics of the song from “Boond Jo Ban Gayi Moti” (1967) :
|
Don’t miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow looking for that pot of gold.
When you reduce life to black and white, you never see rainbows.
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
|
|
If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you
And share with you its beauty
On the days you are feeling blue.
If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own
A place to find serenity
A place to be alone.
If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea
But all these things I am finding
Are impossible for me.
I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair
But let me be what I know best
A friend that’s always there.
May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of friend always be near you.
May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue.
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.
Who in the rainbow can draw the line where the violet tint ends and the orange tint begins? Distinctly we see the difference of the colors, but where exactly does the one first blendingly enter into the other? So with sanity and insanity.
If you wish to see some beautiful pictures and photographs,please go to or click on the following link :
|
haree haree wasundharaa pe neelaa neelaa ye gagan
ke jis pe baadalon kee paalakee udaa rahaa pawan
dishaayen dekho rangabharee, chamak rahee umang bharee
ye kis ne fool fool pe kiyaa singaar hai
ye kaun chitrakaar hai, ye kaun chitrakaar
ye kaun chitrakaar hai.. ..
tapasweeyon see hain atal ye parawaton kee choteeyaan
ye sarpa see ghoomeradaar, gheradaar ghaateeyaan
dhwajaa se ye khade huye hain wariaksh dewadaar ke
galiche ye gulaab ke, bagiche ye bahaar ke
ye kis kawee kee kalpanaa kaa chamatkaar hai
ye kaun chitrakaar hai.. ..
e..n..j..o..y……
If you wish to see two very lovely videos on this song,go to or click on the following links :
PS: Jeetendra had enacted the role of a school teacher in this movie and I had loved this movie for its social message and its lilting music.
kudarat kee is pawitrataa ko tum nihaar lo
is ke gunon ko apane man mein tum utaar lo
chamakaalo aaj laalimaa, apane lalaat kee
kan kan se zaankatee tumhe, chhabee wiraat kee
apanee to aankh yek hai, us kee hajaar hai
ye kaun chitrakaar hai.. ..
J S Broca , New Delhi
May 14, 2009
Here are some beautiful quotes on a rainbow :
|
Nice one Captain Zorab. “When people hear that we have a goat among the Battalion, they think we must be kidding”.