Sunday, May 26, 2013

The UnColour


My favourite colour is black. There I said it! That’s not a colour, right, you’re thinking, didn’t she do her light spectrum in school... black is the absence of all colours. Black is the uncolour.

I love black. Black hair. Which I never missed as much as now that it’s turning – well, not black.

I love black clothes. You look like you’re in mourning, mourns my Ma. You look like a crow, snaps my aunt. You look like an extra in a heavy metal band, said a friend. You look like you fell into ink, said a not-so-well-meaning in-law.

And so I stubbornly black on... I even buy my lil boys black clothes. Hey – black shows no dirt from the 15th fall down the stairs, black shows no blood from scraped knees, black shows no darn marks from the tear in the trouser crotch that all boys seem mysteriously to get. Black’s wash n wear n no-iron.

I bought a black Kancheepuram sari for my bro-in-law’s wedding in Kerala, and was promptly escorted off to buy a more ‘auspicious colour’ which turned out to be blistering maroon with a golden pointy blouse that would make Madonna’s iron bra pale in comparison.

Nah, black is definitely me. Literally. I am the colour of burnt toast myself and so proud of it. And I don’t wanna look like the million other pink-is-in or pasty pastels you get a dime a dozen. After all, I’m the only mourning black crow in a heavy metal band who fell into ink – and wow, that’s a self-image I love enough to live with!

 

19 comments:

  1. Black is red carpet stufff ask the fashionistas! It is the best noncolor!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not at 10 on a sunny morning, which is when I wear it :)

      Delete
  2. I like your ultimate line. Hey! I love black too :) And yes...Black is not a color that is just not accepted by mommys and grannys...I beg to differ too. I am also a momma who loves to wear black and buy black for the boys! (secretly thanks God that mommy isnt net savvy) ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Black is lovely!! At one point of time my wardrobe was black and white, it still is but I have added some splashes of colour now. Black is classy, elegant and thinning! Not that you need it for the last trait or any of the other two either ;) I do. Hail black!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hail black. Yup, remember you in your audrey hepburn black n white polka dots

      Delete
  4. Loved the post Jane, especially about black for the kids, how appropriate and useful ;)!! Black is one of my favourites as well :).. but now I have a hankering after white too :P.. and I so get the auspicious colour thingie.. my mom/dad used to frown if I tried to buy anything that had black "threads" running through it... literally!!! I was very thrilled when for the valaikaappu ceremony(5th/7th month thingie when you are pregnant), you are REQUIRED to buy black :)!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't carry off white for one hour without dropping something on it.

      Delete
  5. I love black too! I used to shy away from buying black earlier, coz..err..people said dark people should avoid dark colours:-0 thankfully, I outgrew these stupid notions and did/do own a few gorgeous blacks in my cupboard :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy to know so many fellow crows-in-ink wells :))))

      Delete
  6. Yay, I looove black and white too! To bring another perspective to this, if you get all possible colours mixed up you get black. Plus, since you are also Gulabi she compensates for the lack of colours ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha - maybe that's why Gulabi happened. I needed someone so far away from my own black image. :P

      Delete
  7. hahahaa... gulabi loves black :D but black rules man! just sometime back i did my wardrobe and i had to count my blacks and well iam not gonig to list the number here... but no doubts black rules!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Think I should change her name from Gulabi to Kali?

      Delete
  8. Love the way you write Jane

    Hugs

    Saravjit

    ReplyDelete