Black Magic

I have a love affair with the word desire. And the color
black is my lifeline.

Black is modest and arrogant at the same time,

Black is lazy and easy – but mysterious.

But above all, Black says this: I don’t bother you, don’t bother
me.

Desire is tempting. It overwhelms.

Black and Desire – the two magicians.

And now they come together for this contest and I am completely
thrilled. I mean, Black and Desire together is really exciting. What’s not to love?

People say ‘Black is the new black’ with a smug look but I’ll
just say this:

Black and me, we go way back in time. I have always had a
love-hate relationship with the color black. I think I loved it in the beginning,
I had a black skirt as a kid, which was clearly my favorite since almost all
my pictures from the 4^th standard are in the same skirt, teamed with
different tops. Kids, I know, right?

Then I turned a rebellious teenager and announced that Red
is my new favorite because everyone in the class started obsessing over black
and who wants to run with the crowd, right? In the religion that is being a
teenager, proving that you’re different and hence, cooler, is practically
gospel.

In college, I got back to obsessing over black because,
well, Black is my oldest love. Who can resist the charm of a Little Black Dress
and hello, haven’t all the fashion magazines told us that our wardrobe is a
complete waste if it lacks a good LBD? Yeah. And I’m a writer, I live for dark stuff. Like, literally.

When I met my now-husband for the first time, he was wearing
a stunning black formal suit and I automatically liked him. He was six feet of
pure detectability in that dapper black look, though it took me a few months to
realize that he too, like me, obsesses over black – Black linen shirt, Black Tees, Black sun
glasses and his favorite horse in his favorite game – Polo, was an enormous jet black
and shiny beauty called Mastana.

Later, we would go on dates, unintentionally dressed in all
blacks – I did attempt some color blocking sometimes with a red scarf over my black
dress or Blue stilettos paired with my black shorts and top. But he would only
be in his denims and a black tee or shirt. Not that I was complaining, he looks
hot in black! Did I mention that I love black, now that the rebel and
being-different phases are thankfully over? Yes, I love Black and people often tell me that I overdo it but hey, that’s the way I am! Also, this image below sums it up pretty well for me.

Very soon, our wedding was being planned and I was told that
black is inauspicious for a bride. Such a buzz kill for me, because I had big
plans of designing a black saree with some unique crystal work for my Sangeet.
But mom and mom-in-law’s collective will prevailed, and I had to settle for pink.
It only made me long for that black saree even more. I did try to bully my
husband into giving up his black wedding suit too, but it didn’t work, hence
making me more sullen. But that’s all water over the bridge now. Or under. Whatever,
I’m trying to forget it, okay?

Anyway. Now, I have a 2 year old daughter who is already picking
out her own clothes, and – no prizes for guessing – black seems to be her favorite
too. We, as parents, are incredibly proud and we take full credit for her good choice.
You know, genetics and all that? Tee hee hee. When she grows up, and decides to wear black for her wedding, I’m going to smile and tell her:

I gained some weight after becoming a mother (which is
perfectly normal, I am convinced) and viola! All the more reasons to wear
black. Everyone knows that black makes you look thin!

But the things is, that imaginary black
saree with delicate crystals for my Sangeet function, almost 5 years back, still haunts me. I got busy with life and though I have a closet brimming and
spilling with various black items, that image refuses to leave my head. Don’t
over estimate me, I am no designer of creatively stimulating clothes, no sir. I
am just obsessed with this one image I had and maybe I romanticized it a bit,
but the second thing on my To Do List right now is to get that vision turned
into reality. (First thing on that list is to lose weight, of course.)

Anyway, before I give you an idea that I’m single-mindedly obsessed
with that one black thing, let me share the list of five black things I desire (apart
from this totally kick ass black saree that I keep dreaming about, of course) and totally justified reasons for each. But first things first –

Things that are NOT on my list, and the reasons:

Little Black Dress because duh, already have. (Don’t fit into them anymore but that’s not
the point)
A Black Luxury car because, stereotypical. (Okay
yes, I want it but it’s not my desire. There’s a difference, okay?)
A black tablet because who doesn’t want it? Meh.
Black dog because dogs are adorable no matter
what! Repeat it to yourself.
Black hair because, have you seen my hair? It’s
as black as it can get and I’m kind of bored with it.
Black Stilettos or Pumps because I hate to admit
it but I’m a wedges-all-the-way kind of girl
Black sunglasses because it’s just plain sad to “desire”
something as mundane as a pair of sun glasses.
You get the point, right?

My list of ‘Black Things I Desire’ is a little different
because, well, when the word Desire gets involved, we can reach for the moon,
right?
Had it been ‘want’ instead of ‘desire’, things would have been
different.

The word ‘Desire’ is itself a black word – mysterious and
tempting.

So here goes my list of Black Things I Desire:

A Black Book Cover for my next book. I also want the title
to be Black magic. I’ve imagined the cover as shiny deep black, with just the
Title in grey (My name can be embossed in black itself). I desire to write a story that is as powerful as
the color black, as magical as the color Black. Fantasy is my favorite genre,
and I desire, badly enough to dream about it at nights, to write an epic
Fantasy story set in a world that will evoke strong reactions in the human
minds. I want readers to carry it with them long after they have finished
reading it. I want the effects of my story to attract like a black magnet and
stick to every reader, like black magic.
A Black Wall in my room. This seems like a doable thing,
except it’s not. We live the life of nomads, shifting from one station to
another every two years, and most of the times, we just end up living with
white walls strewn with our pictures. But this black wall I desire, will be
smooth as pearls and I want to put up my daughter’s picture on it, in a yellow
frame. Just one picture on the entire wall. This means a lot to me. The black
wall would stand for everything that our, my husband’s and mine, life is, and
the framed picture would stand out as one single highlight, the brightest one,
in our lives. Our daughter, our shining star and a daily reminder of the
blessing that she is to the two of us.
A Black Custom Designed Armani Three Piece Formal Suit for
the husband, because a.) our love for black was instrumental in the beginning of
our relationships, at the stage when you don’t know the real person and you try
gauge by what’s visible to the eye. Black made me trust him, and made him fall
in “love at first sight” – his words, not mine! Heehee. And b.) Because he looks
damn hot in black and we’d never be able to afford a custom made Armani in real life. Desire, oh desire!
A lifelong supply of Black Label. You know I mean Johnnie
Walker, right? Yeah, I want that. Because, a.) We like to party, party! and limitations (such as closed – bar) are only created by
our minds (Incidentally, that’s their tag line) and b.) come on, you need a
reason for this one?
A Dark, Black Night with no overwhelming city lights. An adventure
in the wilderness, a trip to the deep forests or on top of a snow-peaked
mountain where the only light is that of the stars twinkling above me. I desire to lie on my
back, with no care in the world, staring at the stars and rekindling my love for magical constellations, that used
to be extremely attractive to me as a child.It is just a way to bring back and restore some childhood in my life.

So. These are the black things I desire. Of course I’d take other
things on other people’s lists like a black Mercedes, a black smart phone and a
black laptop because they are all on everybody’s list, including mine. (I’d
never take a black horse though, because what would I do with it except my
husband could take him to play Polo but what‘s the guarantee that this black
horse will be Polo trained, hmm?) But the reason I’ve kept my list the way it
is, is because of that one word – Desire.

Black and Desire really go together pretty well, don’t you think?

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

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10 thoughts on “Black Magic”

PeeV ee

(July 26, 2014 - 3:21 pm)

Okay, that's it. I'm going back to black. Don't care two hoots about anyone who says black is boring or my wardrobe lacks variety.

Love the idea of the black wall with the yellow picture frame. Someday, I might just flick off that idea from you 🙂

Tomichan Matheikal

(July 27, 2014 - 3:18 am)

You've almost persuaded me to fall in love with black 🙂
It was very interesting to read this.

Jaya.Y.N.

(July 28, 2014 - 9:53 am)

Amazing list Adi. The horse bit is very funny. Read your book and following your blog ever since. Blog often, please?

Roy

(July 30, 2014 - 12:55 pm)

I was trying to switch to colour from all black…maybe i need to rethink!

Trisha Sharma Tandon

(September 6, 2014 - 5:46 am)

I've read a lot of entries for this competition and this one is simply one of the best. Thank you for not putting black heels or black luxury car because, duh!

And omg, what is anyone going to do with a black horse? Haha. Hilarious post. Good thing I found your blog. Will order your book too. God bless.

Ritu Sood

(September 16, 2014 - 4:58 pm)

Loved your blog! I have written for the same contest too, also like a writing prompt more than the contest thing like you. Now I'm thinking why didn't I think of this, ha ha ha. Hope you win. It is really a great blog post and I've read quite a few. Godspeed.