Boundless Blue

Of all the colours in our lives, I feel blue is one which is truly pervading.

For me, blue is the colour of nostalgia since it was the colour of the school uniform. All the happy years spent at Paranjape school are a real treasure. Our school was famous not for strict teachers or discipline but for the way education was made an integral part without any harsh rules or expectations. We were free to explore ourselves, participate in multiple activities or simply be an average student. All were loved and cared for equally. There was no discrimination whatsoever between achievers or backbenchers. It was a free choice whether you wanted to excel in exams or not but yes the core values inculcated by teachers definitely have helped all students of our school be good human beings and be happy. Cleaning classrooms, school's playground or managing cycle-stand was part of our routine duty assigned to us around the year in turns. Swatch school Abhiyan came into our lives at a very early stage. We used to have multiple events at schools like tree plantations, guru Purnima,bal sabha, in addition to annual camps, fair and cultural days.A healthy mind and a healthy body were prime focus. All these values kept us away from jealousy, hatred, and competition and brought a holistic view.

When jeans entered my wardrobe it was blue in colour and for many years different shades of blue kept on coming. Black, white, and red came much later and to date blue jeans remain my favourite comfy wear. I am sure most of us have treasured our favourite pair of blue jeans over years. Another early memory is the colour of berths in railway trains. We used to travel regularly long distances by trains esp Maharashtra express. Those blue berths and the typical smell of little rusted iron are still fresh.I am still to figure out why blue berths? When I came to Mumbai, I saw the blue expanse of sea and what I craved for, was the clean clear blue sky view with no obstructions from the skyscrapers around. Slowly got to know what is meant by Monday blues too.

On a deeper note blue is the colour signifying depth. We say the sky is blue or the water is blue . Both appear to be silent or playful on the surface with waves and clouds but if we reach out to them we realise there is so much inside they are holding for us.

Blue is the colour of my Lord representing an infinite and all-pervading reality. In the Hindu religion, blue occupies a special place. Lord Shiva drank halahal to protect everyone and Devi helped to hold it in the neck turning it into blue colour. Hence the name Neelkanth. I feel blue conveys the message that we should never let negativity and bad energies around impact us. We should stay strong and sustain whatever hardships or difficulties we have to face, or bad experiences we come across. It also reminds us that the world is full of infinite possibilities and we just need to have an open mindset.