A Day At The Carnival

“The whole idea is togetherness. It doesn’t matter how.” Sheila exclaimed! “No, I do not agree with you. If it is about togetherness and spending a good time with each other only, why do you need the tag of a festival? You can choose to be together without any reason. Isn’t this whole idea of celebrating festivals a bit hyped in India?” Sudha retorted.

Sheila and Sudha were neighbors and childhood friends who grew up in the small city of Darjeeling. It was all thanks to their respective families and also the culture of their hometown that they both were quite secular. In a way, the harmonious existence of the different ethnic groups and religions was an inseparable part of their upbringing and thus they were very open-minded. Sheila was more so.

Every year Sheila would participate with equal enthusiasm in Dashain, Tihar, Losar, Buddha Jayanti and Christmas. In fact, she had friends who would call her for celebrating these festivals with them. Sudha used to get a bit uncomfortable because she was not used to meeting different people like Sheila. She was a more rationally structured individual who gave way too much importance to the 'why' and the 'where' and the 'how' and the 'what'. Probably that is the reason why, despite being different they both accommodated each other’s differences, a very rare occurrence that had led their friendship to last for so long.

Like every year Sheila and Sudha were on their way to the annual Darjeeling Carnival, a celebration of ten days portraying the musical and cultural heritage of the city. They had never missed attending the carnival ever since they first started when Sheila was 12 and Sudha was 15. It had been a good fifteen years that they both made it a custom to avoid going out with their families during the winter to make sure they could attend the fest.

Sudha had developed an interest in the arts and different art forms, be it music, painting or films and so the carnival was a place she loved to go to. For Sheila, it was more of a socializing thing. The carnival was a mix of several functions including poetry sessions, painting and photo exhibitions and interestingly tea-drinking ceremonies. As usual, the duo decided to experience as many events as possible. 

Shafiq was contemplating on how successful the exhibit would be. A curator for Nicholas Roerich’s artwork worldwide, he wanted the paintings to sell at the carnival. Not only that, he was anticipating substantial appreciation from Nicholas’s fans for both things: acting as the cultural link between India and Russia as also creating beautiful depictions of the snow-laden mountains which brought to life the varied hues of blue, orange and white. Being associated with the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), it was Shafiq’s job to bring back many inputs so that the exhibit could be improvised the next year.

Just as Sheila and Sudha made their way to the exhibition hall, Sudha was mesmerized. The subtle lighting only enhanced Roerich’s paintings without compromising on the details that this mystic creator wanted to depict. Her artistic self immediately realized that it was not only the paintings but the overall arrangement that needed to be complimented. As they moved past each painting, Sudha felt calmer and calmer. It was as if the mountain ranges instilled in her a sense of humility. One that comes from seeing something larger than oneself. Something that is so incomprehensible and peaceful that one can only think of surrendering to the higher order. For some it may be god, for some religion, for others it could be their work or for people like Sudha, it was the universe. Something that could not be defined, but the presence of which she could never deny.

Sheila was busy talking over the phone when she accidentally bumped into Shafiq who was having a conversation with a fellow artist. She excused herself and continued talking. In about an hour’s time, Sudha was done admiring the entire exhibit and felt the need to congratulate the organizer for putting up much-needed efforts that depicted the beauty of restraint.

She spotted Shafiq behind a huge table that had brochures of the exhibit, flower bouquets from the inauguration ceremony, a visiting guests’ register to keep a record of all those who had attended the exhibit and also miniature versions of some of the paintings from the exhibit for sale for those who wished to buy them. By the time she walked towards the table, he had almost finished his conversation with another admirer. She greeted him and introduced herself to complimenting him for the exhibition. They both started speaking with each other and realized that they both had a lot of love and passion for the arts. It was a busy day at the carnival and they could not continue their conversation for a very long time. Nevertheless, they both wished well for each other in their pursuit of happiness.

On their way back home Sudha could not stop talking about the exhibit and all that Sheila had to do was listen. Not that it was boring. After all, Sudha was a very good orator. Especially when it came to speaking about her personal experiences or instances that had touched her life, she saw to it that she recreated the experience for the other person through her conversations. Sheila then brought up the topic of the schedule for the next day which she was excited about. And then they made it home.