ME AND COLOUR

These days our lives can be described as an endless indulgence in consumerism. And in this blind quest we are going further and further away from our natural moorings. Everyday from the time we get up to the time we go to sleep it is a sequence of continuous the of all kinds of man made commodities Earlier this consumerism was restricted to the urban population.

Today it has became universal. Unabashed consumerism seems to be the creed of all, some have started questioning this. May be this questioning will bring same sanity.

This n0te of caution is applicable to everything. Take colour for example. Colour is what describes the very foundation of all that we see and view. Without colour we will loose the most joyful dimension of everything. - Rivers streams, mountain, forest, etc, Further, this foundation has permitted into all that we create, particularly, into that with which we drape and cover ourselves, our clothes. A beautifully dyed cloth is not only and utility item; it is an individual’s statement, an acts of creativity and effort to emulate nature.

It is in this creative process of trying to capture some of the spirit of nature that we can either emulates or be in harmony with nature or became a self-centered dandy. In other words the over quest for colour, either we can search for sustainability, the essential ethos of mother nature, or became consumerists interested only in a colourful piece of cloth. My aspiration has been to learn and practice the ways of Mother Nature – the natural process. Way back when human beings started living in groups and tribes and focus was on food, clothing and residence, everything came from nature. Nature was the model nature was the source. Wants, needs and expectations remained restricted. Interestingly in activities such as coloring of fabric, wood and other commodities it was found that the basic ingredients were easily available and normally not used as food items. But today there is a change in our desire to emulate nature. We have started ignoring fundamentals such as colouring of fabric, wood and other commodities it was found that the basic ingredients were easily available and normally not used as food items. But today there is a change in our desire to emulate nature. We have started ignoring fundamentals such as environmental sustainability etc. we have started experimenting and propagating practice, which are destructive. We have to stop this.

One thing is clear. In society if a method or thinking succeeds, more and more people tend to accept this. The use of natural dyes and natural fabric is making a slow comeback. If we can show the utility and sustainability of using natural ingredients to make dyes, this will certainly blind ever-increasing adherents. However the state will have to help. It will have to encourage a shift towards natural dyes and discourage the use of chemicals. We have to try and retain the true import of colour. A gift of Mother Nature.