The colors of life

"Would you like to have another cup of chai?" Geetha asked her husband. It would be the sixth cup since morning if Bharath agreed. He needs a cup of tea every time he is tired or bored. Two or three cups a day was the norm on regular days. The boredom of staying at home after retirement would have contributed to the increase in frequency. He has already consumed more today. She couldn't understand what was going on in Bharath's mind for wanting more tea.

She waited for Bharath's response, but he seemed lost in his world. "Bharath!" Geetha raised her voice. "What's wrong? You seem to be out of the world today."

Bharath returned from his daydream and responded. "Yes, please, the masala flavour," he said without answering why he was lost.

Geetha left him in the portico and headed towards the kitchen to make her husband's favourite flavoured beverage. She is an expert in making delicious chai. She experiments with many flavours that he never thought would be possible. Among all the flavours she tried, he loves the masala flavour with added mint. This combination of Indian spices and mint leaves seems to be a magic ingredient that brings up his spirits almost every time.

After a few minutes, she returned with a tray containing two cups of chai and a few chai biscuits. Handing over a cup to her husband, Geetha questioned him. "Who in the world would sip this hot tea when the sun sits above the head?"

"That would be me", Bharath responded, "and you know the reason."

"Is it the time yet?"

"I am waiting for it," Bharath responds.

Geetha knows why Bharath wants to have a cup of tea at this hour when the sun is at its peak. As is believed, he, as a man, loves the colour blue. He wants it everywhere. He spent most of his savings purchasing a beach house, though it was way expensive than the budget. He wanted a beach house because the ocean is blue. Geetha also liked to have a home near the Ocean, though her favourite colour is green. She wouldn't find a green ocean anywhere. Can she? So, she was fine with the decision.

He wants tea at noon because that's the perfect time to have a bright blue sky (if it's clear without clouds) and a bright blue ocean. What more is required during retirement than watching his favourite colours and sipping his favourite beverage?

Sometimes she wonders why someone, including her, would be so mad about the colours. She remembered the fight they both had about deciding the colour of the car that they wanted to buy. She wanted green, and he obviously wanted blue. Full stop. Someone suggested turquoise, as it's the combination of blue and green. They both were happy with this suggestion and requested the car dealer to paint the car with this new colour. The car dealer had a tough time convincing the couple that the car wouldn't look original as turquoise is not in the list of standard colours the manufacturer provided. He finally had to go with the couple's decision.

No one liked the colour except Geetha and Bharath; after all, it satisfied their ego. It was a similar fight for painting their beach house. They finally agreed mutually to paint the exteriors of the house blue, in line with the colours of the sky and ocean. Obviously, the interiors were painted with different shades of green.

This colour fight started almost thirty-five years back during their wedding. It was for the colour of the wedding backdrop, invitation cards, return gift wrappers, decorative lights, chairs, tables, and the list never ends. As per the demands of the bride and the groom, the wedding venue was completely blue and green. All the guests called their wedding as B&G wedding.

People soon started calling the couple as the B&G couple. They soon started a company that was named as B&G Co. B&G represented Bharath and Geetha. It also represented Blue and Green. Someone would call this combination a coincidence. For some, it's God's will that united them. Irrespective of the purpose behind their union, B&G soon became a brand.

Bharath's excitement brought Geetha back to the present. She looked in the direction Bharath's left forefinger was pointing to. His right hand was still holding the teacup. He was obviously pointing towards the bright blue sky with the so-called perfect colour that he had been waiting for since morning. He would be as excited as a child to witness the scene.

"Do you know why the sky is blue?" Bharath asked with a lot of excitement.

Geetha knows this question is unusual and very different from their usual discussions. Their daily routine usually involves discussions about food, neighbours, evening walks, and everything required for the day. This question had a deeper tone when he asked. Was he thinking about this since morning?

After a little thought, Geetha responded, "I am not interested in knowing why the sky is blue. What I would like to know is, why do you love this colour so much?"

"It's for the same reason why you love green", he replied.

"I didn't ask for an analogy", she clarified.

"Alright. I was kidding. I have a solid reason for why I love blue."

"And that is...?" She was very eager to know.

"Have some patience. Let me explain. Blue is a colour that represents limitlessness, which is the nature of infinity. The universe is infinite, with an unlimited set of wonders. Some Hindu gods like Krishna are represented blue for the same reason."

"Is that the reason why the sky looks blue?"

"I am not sure of that. However, I find unlimited opportunities to be happy when I see the infinite sky and the ocean. I wait for this perfect colour in the sky daily to reassure myself about the unlimited happiness I can experience. This unlimited happiness is called bliss."

"That's pretty interesting," she exclaims. "You never told me this. Since when did you have a passion for this colour?"

"It was from my childhood. My grandmother was an excellent storyteller. She told me a lot of stories about Krishna. In one of those storytelling sessions, I asked her why Krishna looked blue. She explained that people depicted Krishna in blue because of his infinite nature and abilities. One of his attributes is called Ananta in Sanskrit. It means infinity or no bounds. I do not know why blue represents infinity."

"Wonderful. I never thought so much meaning existed behind colours. We always think that life should be colourful. But, we don't actually know how life can be colourful. It only happens with thoughts like yours. What a wonderful thought!" Geetha expressed her understanding of his thoughts.

Bharath's face brightened with satisfaction. They smiled, laughed at each other and enjoyed their little tea party under the infinite blue canvas.

Long before such thought-provoking discussions, the B&G couple learned that the best relationships do not result from matching interests, passions, and opinions. Despite their contrasting interests in almost every area of their lives, including the colours, they were together for over three and a half decades.

The true colours of life are not the ones that we see. They are the ones that we experience and share. Trust, honesty, cooperation, mutual understanding, love, and many such values are the true colours of a long-lasting relationship. These colours are invisible, but they add colour to life.