Colour me Pink..!!

Pink may be one of the most beautiful colours on earth, but we are guilty of having giving it the short shrift..This fascinating colour has been studiously ignored for several years by diverse groups including intellectuals, sports persons and politicians..Apart from strawberry ice cream, a couple of esoteric financial newspapers, and Rohit Bal’s ramp designs, we see very little pink in the adult world around us..The Congress, BJP and the Left may have differing views on many subjects, but if we request them to introduce a dash of pink into their party’s colours, they will all uniformly see red..I have rarely seen a pink car on our streets, and not a single bottled drink or toothpaste I know of is even remotely pink..Even the sole telecom brand that sported pink colours quickly changed it to red..Why has humanity ignored pink??

The reason is a set of deeply held irresponsible prejudices against pink, shrouded in obscure screams of ignorance..Men believe pink is utterly feminine, sophisticated women say pink is ‘Jhatak’ and boorish, men and women whisper and chuckle together that pink is gay, and gays feel that pink is so childish and so overdone..Therefore, only newborn girls are given pink frocks in maternity wards, and even these are quickly replaced by white or pale yellow ones when the babies reach home..

But pause a moment and you’ll see so much around us that is beautiful, cherished and naturally pink..New born babies are generally pinkish, and their bottoms are certainly bright pink..Young elephant calves sport a beautiful shade of pink, and the choicest ham is deliciously pink..Pink roses are highly treasured, and pink jacarandas make many a cities come to life every summer..Pink Norwegian salmon is the ultimate sea food indulgence, and pink champagne is much sought after in elite parties..Pink sandstone and marble are highly coveted and look wonderful in opulent palaces they adorn..

Indeed nature is partial to pink because it is such a refreshing colour..That is why the farthest and the most exotic stars in the night sky appear pink, whereas the nearby dog stars are plain white..That is also why pink diamonds are so rare, expensive and cherished that I’m yet to see or receive one in real life..

Nature is not the only entity to pay respect to the colour pink..My roomie’s all time favourite music group chose to call themselves Pink Floyd..Imagine if they had chosen an alternate name, say Green Floyd or Red Floyd..They would simply not have been the same, because like the haunting music there is something distinctly psychedelic about pink..Pink is never deadly serious in its intent, it always nicely mingles sober stuff with innocent fun..Which is why one of the most entertaining detective movie of all time go by the name Pink Panther..And which is also why pink chaddis were sent to the misguided but energetic Mr. Muthalic for his anti-valentine’s campaign last year..

It is therefore quite gratifying to see that IPL and cricket are now leading the cause of pink..Lalit Modi sports bright pink neckties, perhaps because he himself hails from the pink city of Jaipur..The colourful Navjot Sidhu has begun wearing pink turbans during his delightful commentaries on the game.. IPL cheerleaders, bless their bounce, have been wearing pink tails and shaking pink fluffy stuff in both their hands as they celebrate the lusty sixers, and the lusty crowd in turn cheers them on..Unconfirmed reports indicate that one of the two new IPL teams, Pune and Kochi, may choose to sport the colour pink for their dress..And in a milestone announcement recently, it has been revealed that IPL will actually be using pink cricket balls starting next year..Now, that is a path breaking new pink initiative worth raising a toast to-with pink champagne, of course..!!

Its nature's own child; so why are we prejudiced against this shade??


P.S.--check out this post: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2007/nov/05/whyhastheworldgonepinkma

I HAD to voice out my opinion about this after reading this article..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..