12 thousand years back, a caveman used a weird colored rock to scrape figurines of mammoths and brave hunters on the walls of his cavern. He was so amazed by the dark red color that the rock produced, that he let his emotions flow through his hands and on to the walls.
Today, tourists from all over the world visit his cave to experience one of the earliest forms of artwork created – with color.

A thousand years back, a humble artisan inside a dimly lit workshop in Greece, finished painting a vase with black on red clay.
Today, the vase stands proudly inside a display case of a museum, still retaining its former glory – and color.

Five hundred years back, a renowned artist spent 4 years painting the ceiling of a chapel.
Today, visitors just can’t help but stare in amazement at Michelangelo’s masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel – the vivid imagery with meticulous detail – and magnificent color.

Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions. - Pablo Picasso


Color has always made so much difference in each and every object of God’s creation. From the calmness of a lush green forest cloaking the body of a mountain range to the excitement of a drop of red paint exploring a glass of crystal clear water – color has defined Life as we know it. From the dark blue clouds accumulating at the sky over the horizon to the faint red blush on the cheek of a pretty girl - Color has always told us so much more about everything around us.

Color has no limits. Color has no conventions. Color is like a bird to which even the sky is not the limit. Color is like an alchemist who infuses new life into any object and makes it’s worth increase manifold.

So why should the term Black and White exist? Why should there be something that does not have color? Why should we restrict ourselves to color conventions and restrictions? I mean, seriously, think about it. What can we do better without color? Absolutely nothing.

Throughout the ages, a lot of things have shifted to color. The world has ‘almost’ moved on to complete color. But there still exist certain aspects of life which keep restraining color. Some of them are sad, and some of them are outright stupid.

1.       1. Office Documents: I wonder why all the HR people haven’t noticed this but color can play a major role in improving the work environments in offices for sure. I have hardly come across any office documents which are formatted with color. It can be such an effective help for reducing stress as well as increase job productivity. If there is any reason why office documents cannot be presented in color, I’m sure that the reason is stupid.

2.       2. Desktop PCs: There was a time recently, when we were tired of working with white monitors, white keyboards, and white CPUs. So the world should have shifted to colors. But suddenly white was ‘out’ and black was ‘in’. Unfortunately enough, everyone is working on black monitors, black keyboards and black CPUs now. And what is worse, is that no one seems to be growing tired of it. I say let’s bring in some colors and put some life in to these black and white machines.

3.       3. Government Vehicles: Here is an appeal to all the Indian politicians deep in love with their bulletproof white ambassadors with black tinted glass. You should be inspired by the Indian tri-colored flag. The flag of the country that you’re serving is such a symbol of color and you guys just don’t seem to learn. Take off those white outfits and try putting on some color dudes!

4.       4. Test Cricket: I have never really found a satisfactory reason why the longer form of the game should be deprived of color. I mean, what’s wrong with color in a Test Match? Why do you all have to wear white and not your respective colored jerseys?

5.       5. Widowed women: And I am serious about this. Indian heritage and culture boasts so proudly of rich color that it even celebrates a festival of color. Then why do some principles of the same culture require a widowed woman to shun all forms of color including the red ‘sindoor’ (kumkum powder) which every Indian woman so proudly carries on her forehead. I would like to see the modern culture shun these kinds of orthodox rituals.

Life as we know it is incomplete without color. From my childhood, I’ve loved watching how a thick drop of water color plunges into a clear glass of water and spreads outward slowly, but quick enough to consume the entire colorlessness of the water. It is something that attracted me to this blog template. And if you take a careful look at my blog’s header, you will notice that in a way, it symbolizes and celebrates the fulfillment of life as color drives away the darkness.

To put it all inside a tiny brown nutshell, I have this message for everyone who is reading this. Open your mind. Let your emotions free. Let colors help you express better. Let colors help you live better. Let’s take flight with color.


This post was written for the HP Take Flight With Color Contest on Indiblogger.