Thursday, December 31, 2009

The serenity of an evening

Pan copy

It was one of those evenings. You know... the ones, where everything seems to slow down and take a deep breath. When everything seems to be moving at just the right pace, everything seems to be revelling in the moment. A cool breeze flowed through, so gentle,... that when it flowed over you, you felt like you were being caressed with barely touching fingertips. Every breath seemed to add a new vigour, new life. It was really a rejuvenating feeling. The clarity of the evening all around reflected in my thoughts as well .... I already had a spring in my step by now.

I was out with my new toy, my camera, excited to try it out. Boy, was I glad to be outdoors. I reached the hill behind my university in hope of getting some good shots of the setting sun. And there I was, completely captivated by the serenity of it all. It was the whole setting that made the magic and I knew immediately that I was never going to capture in just photographs.

This is what I saw... no, experienced. The sun was setting in brilliant colours. I imagined that if it was a real person, it would be giving out a sigh after being satisfied with a hard day's work, sigh of thinking about reclining with a hot cup of coffee. A little distance away, a young couple were leaning against a tree on the hill slope. The nice evening, and being in IMG_0273 each other's company had evidently lifted up their spirits. They were all playful and smiling and completely engrossed in their own world of two. A guy was sitting on the hill-top, not far from where I stood, and was strumming away smoothly on his guitar. He was simply playing his favourite tunes. And coincidentally, a guy farther down the hill was taking stroll singing a soft, chinese song, completely oblivious to his contribution to the evening.

Now, how was I ever going to capture the whole mood with just my camera. I never could have. It is the blending of all these small, nice things that adds taste to the delicacy, called life. The singer was too far away downhill, and I dared not approach the couple and spoil their moment. So, I approached the guitarist of the evening for a photograph. He readily agreed. So I did manage to capture something of the evening's essence other than just scenery.

Thus, feeling triumphant of approaching a stranger for a photograph successfully and having experienced the unique blend of a moment of life, I was reminded of the line from the movie American Beauty -

You can't be mad for long because there is so much beauty out there.

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Images: Santosh