Ishqbaaz – Rikara Trust 36

Om was packing his canvass and painting supplies. It was a Saturday and at this time he goes to his local thinking spot and looks for inspiration. As he walks downstairs, he notices that the house is really quiet.

O (Thinking): Where is that, chatterbox Gauri? Wherever she is, you can hear.

He goes to Jhanvi.

O: Ma, did you see her?

J: Who? (Jhanvi knew who he was referring to but still to pull his ears and have fun with him)

O: You know, Gauri.

J: I do not know where she is. I saw her going out but she did not tell me where she was going. (Jhanvi knew where she was going but she did not want to directly give it away. After all, she recommended that place to Gauri.)

O: I will just talk to her later.

Om heads out to his thinking spot. It was a small mountain where you can see the entire forest on one side and then the lake on the other spot. A true view of nature. It was in a secluded place and approximately an hour drive from the city. Not a lot of people knew about it and he preferred it that way. There, he was not the Oberoi brother but instead a regular human where money and status did not matter.

The trek was extremely hard and excruciating but as soon as you get to the top, the view was beautiful. As he gets to the top, he sees a girl there with her canvas set-up and painting.

O: Hi, I am Om. What is your name?

The girl: Really? Is the introduction necessary?

This voice sounds so familiar so he come infront of her and it was Gauri with a huge grin on her face.

O: What are you doing here?

G: Jhanvi ma told me about this place. She told me how you come here and produce great work so I thought I can steal your spot. Here, you can sit here. I will find another place.

O: You came here first so it is yours. First come first serve. I will sit beside you.

G: This place is so peaceful. How did you find it?

O: My parents always fought and as a teenager, sometimes I would want to escape from it. One day, I just took the car and stopped when I felt like it. I saw this mountain and climbed it.

G: Were you considering…

O: Suicide… no. There were several times when I wanted to take my life but that was not the case. When I came here, I just felt pure. The air and the smell of nature. I always come here when I am angry or sad. So what are you drawing?

Gauri shows her half drawn picture. It was a black and red bird feeding her young.

G: I saw it on the way and it just shows how a mother is willing to fly around to find food their babies. I am going to call it A Mother’s Sacrifice. What about you?

O: I have not decided yet. I am going to look around. Be back in a few minutes.

Om walks around and finally sets her canvass behind her. After a few hours, Gauri finishes her piece and goes to Om.

O: Who taught you how to draw like this? You said you just took a beginner course in college and they do not teach you such complex techniques.

G: To be honest, it was you that taught me how to draw. I would see you draw sometimes and noticed how you shaded and blended colours. I even know your clay blend and use that when I am sculpting.
O: Wow, you are a good observer. You learned all these things just from looking at me.

G: Just from observing how society works, you can understand funny things that we do. Do you know that we love to follow one another? For example, if an actor introduces a new dress or acts in a specific way, then everyone starts to act that way. Even take me as an example, Dabanng Gauri. But, you are different. You believe in paving your own way and being the leader instead of the follower.

O: Gauri, I feel like you are analyzing me under a microscope. Please stop it. (Thinking) She knows so much about me but I do not know anything. If I want to impress her, I need to know everything about her.

G: Okay, I will stop. Can I see what you have drawn?

O: Give me five minutes. Once I am done, you can be my critic and give me advice on how it is.

G: Me, your critic. Please do not joke around.

O: Each person has a different perspective. For example, there is artwork where it is just spots of paints. For one person, it can be spots of paint but for another, it can represent water droplets or the different emotions of a person. That is one of the reasons why I like art.

Gauri walks around and then Om calls her. It is a picture of a girl drawing a picture of the mother bird feeding her young. On the side, it says, “Perspective in life matters as it affects the way you perceive you something. Here, you can say that the mother is feeding her young. When you flip the story, you can say that the mother is killing that bug so she can selfishly feed her young.”

G: This is so deep. How do you think of these ideas?

Om just shrugs and gives an “I do not know” look. (Thinking) This is my situation now. I have two perceptions of you and I know that what I see now is the true Gauri.

Both of them keep on chatting and enjoying the view.