Story of a Picture
It is famously said, “A photograph’s worth a thousand words”. Today though, I shall narrate the story of the picture you see.
It is evident that the photograph was shot to have a memory of the moment. What it shan’t say to you is how one rode a few kilometers to find a post-box, because to find and spot a post-box in the age we live is a journey in itself; a forgotten joy which warmly embraces at the sight of one.
The photograph as you see has an assortment of postcards, each of it addressed to someone special. Those postcards were knighted with the name of the person as they were chosen. Also as they were being chosen, subconscious plans of how the journey with the person the postcard was knighted to through the photographic landscape would be was dreamed up.
The photograph shan’t convey how with some people it became a struggle to pen thoughts, because with each of the receivers the connection photographer shares differs. With the chosen person, the photographer is keen to explore the postcard-featured part of the city and simultaneously a part of herself – Her, living in a foreign land.
The photograph shan’t reveal how the photographer has made a memory with the city and some of its corners, several Squares, many a Cafes, roads and lanes, but with this wonderful person it shall be a memory island of ‘Togetherness and Friendship and Love in a Foreign Land’; it will be a lush sunshine feeling even if this spirited person visits during bitter winter.
The photographer is an old soul, as you may have gathered by now. This photograph is much like a selfie, with the photographer proudfully declaring, “This is me, this is how I want to be memorised and thought of”.
That’s it! That is the story behind the picture.
As these are about to be dropped in the post-box, I can imagine the photographer unable to conceal her smile, thinking how happy and delighted and surprised the receiving person shall be and, hoping that her gently woven emotions and journey proposals shall leave them beaming and mesmerised.
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An ode to thoughtfulness and quirks of my friend Nikita Shah.
(Photoshot by: Niktia Shah, Kissey jo tasveer na sunnaye.)