COLOURS AND THEIR SYNONYMS

 
SOME COLOURFUL THOUGHTS

 Our Writers' club has a page on Facebook called 'Writestuff Writing Club. Here some of the 185 members regularly post their thoughts, poems and short stories.

 On one occasion I asked them to mention five synonyms for the colour RED. Sushma Mehta Shah compared red to an angry face, fire, autumn leaves, and the traditional red wedding saree. Priya Sanghvi Madhavdas ‎said that the colour red reminded her of Flushed Cheeks 2) Wine 3) Cherries or Tomatoes 4) Danger....as in when you see red 5) The status of a married woman....her Sindoor . Chaitali Shah said that Red stood for: Heart, Signal, Cross, Fire Brigade, BEST Buses in Mumbai. 18 year old Hina Thadani said that Red made her think of :Blood, Apples, Tail light of vehicles, Ruby and Wine. Phorum Pandya's red: blushing cheeks, mahableshwar strawberries, teary eyes, oozing blood after misusing the kitchen knife. And here's  Aanchal Shetty's Red: 1) the colour I see when I shut my eyes in broad daylight, 2) sindoor that is applied by and to all married bengali women during sindoor khela, 3) red lips and talons of a sharp corporate dresser. 4) red carpet with actress in deep red gowns hugging their perfect figures, 5) autumn leaves.

   Next we had a go at the colour BLUE.
Aanchal Shetty saw Blue in: 1) the Ashok Chakra in our flag, 2) the bottle of Camel Ink, 3) the ink stain on fingers and white uniform (that I wore with pride as it denoted our transition from primary to secondary section), 4) the ocean with its azure waters that beckons one to leave the safety of the shore and venture into the unknown, 5) the ink blue sky sprinkled with stars that hold the promise of sweet dreams and lull me to sleep .Swapna Redij sang the blues of the Blue sea at Somnath, Blue waters of the Narmada, Blue mountains, Blue sky in Ladakh, Blue ink, Blue eyes, Bluebells, Blueberries, Films like Blue, Avatar and Saawariya, The Blue Nile, Blue Gods (Ram, Krishna), She continued by going blue in the face, blue heavens, colours navy blue, sky blue, royal blue; blues singer . To Phorum Pandya blue meant: Camlin pastel paint bottle, peacock's feather, Krishna,  Blue Frog, the nightclub, deep sea water and sadly, also heart ache.

   After the blues we needed a cheerful YELLOW.  Priya Sanghvi Madhavdas said this for the colour Yellow.... 1) A peppy personality 2) Van Gogh's Sunflowers 3) The unconquerable Sun 4) Turmeric Powder 5) Its status as a primary colour 6) Fresh Sweet Corn with a dash of Lime.

   And is ORANGE a tough one I asked? Certainly not said   Phorum Pandya who said that orange brought back memories of  a chilled glass of Tang, ice candy we bought for Rs 2 as kids, orange facepack, juicy oranges, sunset. Hina Thadani mentioned face pack, orange candy, ice cream,Rasna the cold drink, and marigold. Priya Sanghvi Madhavdas' ORANGE : 1) Setting Sun 2) Freshly Cut Papaya 3) Orange Flavoured Creme Brulee With Bits Of Rind In It 4) The Result Of Mixing Red And Yellow 5) An Orchard 6) Tangerines 7) Dried Apricots 8) The Oranges And Lemons Nursery Rhyme 9) Lillies 10) The Diwali Festival....with marigold garlands everywhere. Swapna Redij: Orange in the Flag and its significance; Hanuman and the orange tilak in the temple; Orange County; Mangoes; earlier drink Gold Spot, and now, Frooti, Mangola, Fanta; Mango duet icecream, carrots, fresh apricots, saffron robes. Sushma Mehta Shah mentioned Orange.as one of the colours in the NATIONAL FLAG,and contradicting the value of it is the SHIV SENA...orange the color of the hot burning SUN and hence the color to quench your thirst with Tang,Mangola,Goldspot, and as mentioned by everyone orange the color of piousness...and religious beliefs. Aanchal Shetty Orange:1) the colour of fanatic Hinduism, 2) the colour of dawn and dusk, 3) the initial ads of Orange Telecom, 4) the marigold flowers, 4) the pepsicola that we got for 25ps. during school days.

   We still have a lot of colours to play around with, colours like pink, purple, brown, green. Use your five senses to describe these colours. For all you know you might even be able to develop your sixth sense, and colourfully too.