Ira at Chitra Santhe 2019, her first

January 6th, 2019 will be another milestone for us. We took Ira to Chitra Santhe 2019. For years, P and I along with some friends have blocked our calendars for this annual event. It is beautiful to see various forms of art in diverse mediums and the different things that inspire people. There are some themes that seem common every year- Buddha, Ravi Varma inspired portraits of women, Sadhus. As we stroll down the Kumara Krupa Road and bump into other friends who are art enthusiasts or who just live colour or who are there to meet other friends or who come to every event at CKP. It really doesn't matter. There are some who come to religiously buy the postcards, calendars and book marks often created by the Fine Art students, the themes new every year.

This year as we braced ourselves for the long walk, considering parking was prohibited post Nehru circle; we wondered how would Ira take it. She just began walking and insisted on walking by herself. Papa set some ground rules telling her that she can walk by herself in that growing crowd but has to ensure that they can see her and she can see them at any point of time. She seemed particularly taken by the paintings of animals, especially cats and dogs. She would walk past, look and say...see this! One of the artists asked her is she would like to draw something that a didi had drawn. She obviously was in her own world and walked past. The caricature person did grab her attention for a short while, but she wasn't intrigued enough to get one done of herself. After walking a distance, she wanted to be perched on Papa's shoulders and take the tour.

This continued for a while till a child holding a balloon caught her attention. And then we began the balloon wala hunt as we walked to more stalls. She was thrilled to get a balloon puppy and cotton candy. We do wish there were more activities to engage 3-4 year olds and not just stalls selling things they can buy. But it is important to clarify that this experience was not with a hope that it will inspire her to be an artist. As parents, we can only provide our little ones new unique experiences. What they make of it and how they build a world their own is an unknown intriguing palette.

For now, our little girl is happy drawing monsters and scribbling colours on a plain sheet.

#Ira #Iraisms #TalesAtFour #IraAtFour #MakingMemories #ChitraSanthe2019