Stocked!

Do you have any collections?

Life is a collection of moments.

And I cherish every moment. I completed my Social Communications Media Course, from Sophia Polytechnic a couple of decades ago. As part of this course, I completed an exhaustive course in photography. I am not among the best photographers to graduate from the course, but I applied my learnings to everyday life. I am, what is commonly referred to as a ‘trigger-happy’ photographer. Initially, this was an expensive habit to cultivate, the cost of films was high and the cost of developing and printing was limited to a few experts. I spent almost 1000Rs printing and developing my photographs from the course-organized photography tour. Two decades ago, the cost was on the higher side. As part of that series, I had pictures of buildings as my project had an architectural angle and I had a few interesting portraits of residents in the localities we had to document. I did not make a note of the individuals I had captured and that is one aspect of that series I regret, as for the buildings I had photographed, most of them are well-known landmarks and possess recognizable facades.

When digital cameras came into the market, I got one of the earliest models of the Nikon series – D40. I’ve always had issues peering through the viewfinder and capturing moments. These shots, for some reason, have always been slightly hazy and unfocused. But the ones where I have not used the viewfinder have had some interesting results. And then came mobile phones with some exemplary cameras. This technological development fed my trigger frenzy. I have a lot of photographs. I have never considered printing out copies of the photographs I have, but on occasion, I have printed a few to frame. The memories these moments evoke and the stories they tell! It’s true. One picture easily equals a thousand words. Every photograph is captured at a specific moment in my journey as a student, as a bride, as a mother, as a wife, as a sister, as a daughter, and as a proud pet owner. The one thing I am forever grateful for is cloud storage, because I cannot imagine saving them as printed images, there just wouldn’t be enough space.

Back in the day, street vendors were seated up and down the side lanes adjoining Commercial Street. They used to sell everything from seeds and spices to lingerie to clothes, plastic toys, and posters, and their USP was the cost. The cost of anything you picked off the streets never went above a couple of rupees. Shopping here always made me feel like I was mega-rich. Any money I saved through college I used to spend on the purchase of posters with quirky quotes. At one point we had an entire wall dedicated to posters. Initially Mum did not like this decor idea, but the monsoons after these posters went up, she realized their value. The water acted like glue and the posters adhered to the wall completely disguising the wet patches caused due to water seepage. More than posters, it’s the quotes that captured my interest. I still look for and note down quotes that I stumble into. I create tiny Post-it posters that the kids are using as room decor. As a calligraphy enthusiast, I used to create greeting and birthday cards with the most inspiring quotes and messages for my friends. I’ve even completed random projects on behalf of relatives for quite a variety of evaluations. I may not have a lot of patience when it comes to interacting with people, but leave me with a stack of papers and pens and I will be happily engrossed.

Pens. Gel pens. Ink Pens. Ballpoint pens. Gold Pens. Pen pencils. Mechanical pencils. Pencils with a lead of different sizes. Flat lead pencils. I love them in all shapes, sizes, and forms. I am partial to the miniature working varieties. I have always been interested in writing. I had written a series of sonnets while I completed my English Literature course during graduation. I write poems on occasion, but stories are more fascinating. Art and writing have always been captivating. During the SUPW classes in school, we were taught nib painting, acrylic painting, poster painting, and calligraphy. Ever since I made the effort to pick instruments that would help me learn a little more in any of these art or writing forms. I have an exhaustive collection of calligraphy pens, pencil sketching sets, fine point pens, gel pens, brush pens, white colored pens, and metallic pens, if it allows for the ink to flow freely so it won’t affect the design, then I have it with me. My latest skill has been to learn to do mandala art and zen tangling. I used to doodle while in college and it has always adorned most of my notes and textbooks and these I used to create with the pens and pencils I used regularly. Now, I use fine point pens to create more intricate designs and they are the biggest reason for all my back-related issues.

With the means to create the designs, I require the right canvas and I have papers in differing materials, from synthetic paper to art paper, I use different kinds of papers for different kinds of art. Over the years, I have inadvertently collected different kinds of papers in a variety of sizes and colors. Bookstores are my weakness, I have a radar that will lead me to the closest bookstore in every place I have visited. Did you know that even hospital gift stores stock a small collection of pens and papers that you can use to create posters and cards? A bookstore is the one place I love to visit, but am terrified to visit because I can never control what I end up picking up. My younger kid hates books and writing and is my best bet to not make unwanted purchases in a bookstore.

You can never have enough Jeans. When I quit working and going to the office, I used to lounge at home in casual track pants and tee shirts. At that time on one of her many visits to my house, my sibling stayed with me for a month and ensured that I wore jeans during the day and only changed to lounge clothes or track pants in the evening. I tried managing with two pairs of jeans, but quickly realized the requirement for more. I have approximately 8 or 10 pairs of jeans in various shades of blue and black. There are those I wear every day to lounge around the house, so the knees and hips on these are really worn out and have bags. Then there are the jeans I wear when I go out, these are well-maintained and look presentable. And finally, there are the jeans I would wear for sports events, like to the soccer class or the school sports day, these are comfortable, dirty and slightly loose, so I don’t cook in them while cheering in the sun. Jeans are my go-to attire for everything from semi-formal events to the super casual pickup from school.

Collections are so enjoyable. When I am low on inspiration, all I need to do is to look through my collection of pens, and depending on what I am looking at, either a design inspiration or a writing prompt comes through. Every piece of paper, pen, jeans, or quote gets me in the frame of mind for a particular kind of design. Curating and decluttering are two faces of the same coin that play an important role in creating collections worth exhibiting.