This story titled, “Uyir” is written for #WriteTribeProBlogger challenge, inspired by a kolam art pattern.
Uyir – The Art of Life
The painting was one of my favorites. No one understood why. It wasn’t anything great, just a random pattern colored neatly. Not a smidgen of color went outside the lines. It had no characters, no setting, nothing that breathed life.
“Why, Tammy?” asks one of the many admirers of my artwork. The gallery had been a success, and many had bought my art. New York had loved the work of the upcoming Indian artist.
As I looked at the painting, the memory came rushing back. It always did.
The sun was rising over the gopuram of the Devi temple nearby. She sat outside our home, humming a tune to herself. As I looked on, she put dots of white powder in a pattern. Once done, she’d connect the dots to make another pattern. Each day, it would be different. Each day, it would be beautiful. How steady her hand would be as she then sprinkled that pattern with colored powder. Not a smidgen went outside the lines. Not a grain of powder went to waste.
“Why Tammy?” he asks again, breaking the chain of thoughts.
Tammy. The nickname had stuck, but only for the crowd. I see the painting’s name and her words spill into my soul again. I remember the times I had attempted the kolam, and gone outside the lines. Her encouragement is what kept me trying, and awakened a passion for art within me.
“Thamarai, nee thaan en uyir,” she would say.
“Thamarai, you are my life.” It was only fitting that this painting, my first ever painting, be named so. It was the only one that wasn’t for sale.
“Uyir – The Art of Life”
I read the name and smile happily. Art was life for me now. And many miles away, I imagine Amma would be smiling thinking of me too.
Liked this? Maybe you can read some of my earlier posts: for Write Tribe | Short Stories.
(© Vinay Leo R. @ I Rhyme Without Reason,
2nd October, 2017)
Vinay Leo R.
Poetry & writing are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.
The first thing that came to my mind was pulli-kolam as well. An intricate art that reminds me of my grandmother and the early morning air. You have rekindled a very fond and deep stashed memory. Thank you for this.
Oh. I remembered seeing it done a month back. It was so elaborate, and so precise, that I just sat there admiring. 😀 Glad it rekindled a memory, Anjana. 🙂 Thank you.
Lovely story! So heart warming..
Thank you, Meha. 🙂
Kolams have always attracted me too. In fact some of the ‘kolams’ by my erstwhile Tamilian neighbours in Ernakulam were so intricate and beautiful that I’d just look at them and wonder how they were done with such precision.
You brought back those memories.
Thank you.
(Geeta Nair recently posted… Life as I see it)
I can relate to the neighbors and the kolams too, Geeta. Even the Kannadigas have this knack for precision when it comes to kolams! 😀 They look so beautiful.
Vinay, yours is the first story I read in this challenge and I am glad I did so. Beautiful story, narrated even more beautifully. The emotions of the artist come across so vividly that I could see the smile on his face when he thought of his amma.
Happy that my story was the first one you read, and that my narration could bring across the artist’s emotions. Thank you, Sulekha. 🙂
Beautiful! Uyir is an inspiringly wonderful word! Great start to the challenge, leader! 🙂
(Sreedeep recently posted… The Bell Fruit Tree)
Thanks, and glad you liked the story, Sreedeep. 😀 Uyir is indeed an inspiringly wonderful word!
Nice take on the prompt! The details – such as gopurams definitely took me back to my school days!
Thanks, Z. 🙂 How did a gopuram take you back to school days?
I marvel too at the ease with which the rangoli makers draw patterns or the Mehindi wallas pipe out design trails one after the other. Its mesmerising to watch their work and for me a great stressbuster is to go and get mehindi put on my hands as I am soothed by the way he draws the designs on my hands.
Does UYIR mean life Vinay?
(SHALINI BAISIWALA recently posted… “Monetarily up yours ” is the common anthem of Private sector banks [ #writebravely ])
Yes. 🙂 It does mean life.
Glad you liked the story and could relate it with something. Thank you, Shalini B. 😀
Very moving, Leo. The wonders of loving affirmation – it can help us move mountains!
Oh yes. 🙂 The belief is what helps us move forward. Thanks, Corinne.
You need to invest your deepest emotions into your art, to create something truly beautiful. Lovely story. I could visualise her creating the kolam, and the little boy watching his Amma. Great start to the challenge. 😊
Thanks, Apeksha. 🙂 Glad you felt the story was lovely!
Lovely story. It reminded me of the time when I decided to introduce kolam in one the stories in my book. It was meant for grade 4 and kids loved it. There is something about art that makes it divine to me.
🙂 Art is divine, and I think that’s especially true for kolam too. Glad you could relate to my story in some way. Thank you, Swati.
Beautiful Kolam and heart warming narrative! Nice take on the prompt, Vinay!
(Aesha Shah recently posted… Disturbing Pattern Of Life !)
Thanks, Aesha. 🙂
What a lovely rangoli design and such a beautiful tale. “The art of life” sounds interesting. 🙂
(Payal Agarwal recently posted… Patterns)
It’s Thamarai’s perspective, of course. 🙂 For her, art is life, as it may be for any artist! Glad you liked the tale, Payal. Thanks!
What a word – Uyir! Vinay, you have brought the memories of my school painting which I used to do with so elan and comfort that not a single dot of colour would be out of the line.
(Rohan recently posted… Understanding Feminine Minds – Prose Poetry)
Yes. 🙂 I would struggle with that actually. My teacher was encouraging though! Thanks, Rohan.
Your writing continues to amaze me…such a small snippet of life and yet so poignant.
(Sanch @ Sanch Writes recently posted… Passionate September 2017)
Thank you, Babby. 🙂 Glad you liked the story, and that my writing amazes you!
That’s an incredible take on pattern Vinay. Kolam (Muggu in Telugu) is indeed very close to my heart. I love creating muggu with colors on festive days! Me and my mom share the load, she makes the outline with white powder and i fill it with colors. This post brought back many fond memories 🙂
Kolam is quite close to many hearts, I feel. It’s almost part of a routine, one that many do not want to break! 🙂 Glad my story could bring back fond memories for you, Keerthi.
That’s a lovely one Vinay. Kolams are new for me – 11 years new. I have always loved them here in Bangalore and I have so many pictures of kolams. My friends at work have shared its significance and that makes me admire the art more. 🙂 That’s a lovely kolam too.
(Parul Thakur recently posted… A giggle and a click)
Even I have loved the kolams I see in Bangalore too, Parul. 🙂 They are so beautiful to look at, even the way they are made!
Amazing how these seemingly small and mundane daily acts can end up shaping our life right!
(Mahak @babyandbeyondin recently posted… Establishing a Toddler Routine – Why and How We Are Doing it)
Very true. The little moments do matter, and we realize that only at such memory floods. 🙂 Thanks, Mahak.
This one reminded me of my mom’s intricate Alpana art that we do during Laxmi puja every year. So many miles away from home, this one just touched a chord in me and rekindled memories of my growing up years that seems like another lifetime now. Another beautifully written piece from you, Vinay!
Glad my story could rekindle a memory for you, Esha. 🙂 Thank you so much for liking the piece!
A poignant one Vinay – the mother’s undying love comes to light.
(akshata recently posted… The wait #FridayFotoFiction)
Thank you, Akshata. 🙂
I admire the women who can design intricate kolams. Such a talent! And to keep thinking of a different pattern each day. This is a lovely story, as always 🙂
(Bhavya recently posted… Pattern Of Changes)
Yes. And they don’t have to put it down somewhere either. They just do it on the spot! 😀 Very talented people. Glad you liked the story, Ishi.
Ah! we all find happiness in our imperfect perfection (I’m not good at kolam – we call it rangoli, yet I feel proud to show off) . your piece, though is perfect and precise.
I think everyone admires their own art. Doesn’t need to be precise. 🙂 Glad you felt my story was, though! 😀 Thanks, Priya.
The way the kolam pattern is used to weave a story is very interesting. I have seen it in the courtyard of certain homes in Kerala. While my appreciation goes to the complexity, symmetry and precision in a kolam pattern, I also wonder about the reasons for it being restricted to certain households only.
Hello, Prasanna. I’ve seen it rarely in Kerala. 🙂 It’s not restricted by household, but maybe by choice. Not everyone wants to do it because it is so precise!
Beautiful story, Vinay. And beautiful kolum. Reminded me of the one my Mom-in-law used to make every Diwali. Not one dot or line would be crooked despite her trembling hands (she had been on anti-psychotic drugs which brought about the tremors).
It is something about the kolum that brings the artist alive!
(Shilpa Gupte recently posted… Self-love…quotes for the ‘self’.)
Some just have the knack for it, Shilpa. 🙂 I can’t stay within the lines even when I try hard to. Glad you liked my story!
This is fabulous. The story, the emotion and of course the art. The flow of the narrative is so effortless. Reading more of you, Lead tribe, soon. 🙂
Welcome to read my blog any time, Ashwini. Glad you felt that my story was fabulous!
Women who can draw beautiful kolams are pure talent. I admire them. Beautiful story. And Uyir such beautiful word. Tamil got some beautiful words like this.
Me too. There were two housekeeping ladies at the office recently. Drew a big, beautiful kolam within minutes! Stunned! 😀
I love the word Uyir too, SSJ. A very beautiful word, I feel. Glad you loved the story!
That was such a sweet story. Somewhere the childhood stays with us and those memories build our path in strange ways that we cannot really relate!
(Nibha Gupta recently posted… Breaking Free)
True. There’s a drop of childhood always alive within us. I think so too. 🙂 Thank you, Nibhz.
Wow! I was blank after reading the prompt – ‘Pattern’. And here you thought of kolam! :O
But what a lovely story! I especially loved the names you used- Thaamarai, Uyir! Well-thought! 🙂
(Shalini recently posted… A Pattern)
I was blank till about one hour before midnight, T. 😉 Glad you loved the story and the names.
I loved the emotions in this story, Vinay. Made me smile. It’s a talent to make kolam patterns. I don’t know if I have that talent since I have never tried my hand at it. 😉 I must say, you are a wonderful story teller, Vinay. Readers are always in for a treat. 🙂
(Vinitha recently posted… Puzzled! #writebravely #WriteTribeProBlogger)
I tried once. Just wasn’t my cup of tea, Vinitha. 😀 Glad you loved the story!
Some patterns set the life with a great pattern, isnt it? With your post learnt a new phrase “Uvir”! I can now see that there are so many intricate patterns in my life with my own Uvirs!
– Anagha from Team MocktailMommies
Thanks, Anagha. 🙂
Wow this is so beautiful.. I am so happy to have come across this fiction writer
Welcome to my little blog, Jinal. Glad you felt my story was beautiful. 🙂
Lovely!
Thanks, Nikita.