Sunday, July 20, 2008

Painted Skies






The skies here look painted. I have not seen prettier skies anywhere else. My brother's home is on the top floor of a building (9th) maybe thats how I get to see this really vast expanse outside. The room he has opens out into a terrace... it has pretty high walls, so all you see when you step out is the sky. Even in the night the sky is breathtakingly beautiful. Its raining off and on these days, so the clouds just roll in at times... there are grey clouds against white. Its like white takes on more shades in this land (read sky).

Last night the moon was shining from behind these pretty clouds... I tried to take a picture, its nothing great, but I am sure it gives an idea! I have been to the hills in India, and the sky there is beautiful. But there you somehow expect it to be like that. I know that sounds unfair. But try and understand. This is a busy, commercial city. I havent smelled fuel smoke even once here. Maybe they make cars differently here. In the middle of all this hustle and bustle, when you find so much beauty its really overwhelming. If just below your modern appartment building, you have a pristine canal and ducks and swans - well, it really does take your breath away. And you wonder how its possible. You wonder what did we do wrong in our cities. Are we so unaethetic or is that part of the globe just not so pretty? Delhi gets pretty in the winter, but thats short lived, and has so many other unpleasant connotations attatched to it. Alright, I should not get personal here. Delhi is pretty in the winter. But the smoke, and the traffic and the garbage. The dirty smog that settles every evening coz of the pollution.

I had gone to Munnar in May - its a picture perfect place. Beautiful hills and lovely weather in the middle of the Indian summer. It really has a lot going for it. But the main town? Its ugly. There are small budget hotels sprouting up like weeds on the hill sides. They are bright pink and indigo blue with ugly facades. The market place is a jumble of concrete buildings, of myriad shapes and sizes. It has just begun developing, its not a very old town. I wonder why someone can't come up with one aesthetic pattern for development of that pretty town? Very soon it will look like downtown Ooty, where you wonder why you came there at all. There is no quaintness left in that town, its a dusty, dirty town. The only sanity is the Botanical Garden there. You have to get away from our towns and cities to find beauty. Thats my whole point. Here, its right here. I dont have to run away anywhere to find it. Its under the building, its by the side of the road, its by the side of the pavement.

I just had to write this down before I slept. The pictures of the sky... I will put them up tomorrow!

1 comment:

Strange Brew said...

Hey.. Sounds so picturesque. Try and get some pics of the buildings there too. Would love to see the architecture of the city..