PaintAthon, anyone?

Last friday, Prayas, Akshay and I decided to have a PaintAthon. A PaintAthon is a time pass activity, when two or more painters do nothing but paint in a time frame. Friday, because the brat will be at school all day. If they had any sense, they should have sent me to school with the kid. Find out why:

Prayas, is a regular painter. Akshay is new. In fact, this is Akshay's first brush with a canvas. Here his mind is desperately trying to 'see' the image.

Prayas does not bother to see anything, he simply begins what looks like blobbing.

Neither Akshay nor me can contain our jeolosy. "What on earth is that?" I ask him. His hand doesnt stop.

I continue to pester him. "Why do you use such dark, dull colors?"

"Why dont you shut up and start your own painting?" he yells.

"Black blob and then dark green! Yuk! Even your kid paints better than you."

By now Akshay is really nervous. He is too unmarried to appreciate the vicarious pleasures of couplehood.

"Chill," he says. He hasnt even started yet, neither I.

"What are you going to paint, Akshay?" I ask him.

"I dont know yet." he says, looking at the pristine white canvas.

"Feels almost like a sin to stain it, doesn't it?" I ask him softly.


"Will you please get lost?" Prayas thunders! "Why dont you start painting? Where is your brush?"

"I don't have one." I pout.

"Ok, take this ."

"This brush is too big."

"Hold it by the side and it becomes small."

"Ok. Thankyou."

I take Pavan's water colors and leave for the bedroom. My canvas is the glass window. There is no choice. All I can see outside are leaves, more leaves and a little bark. And all I remember from my school notebooks are small brickred pots from which imerge green plants, red flowers, sometimes a mango.


"Hey, Mango, where are you?" yells the husband.

" I thought you guys didn't want me there!" I yell back.

"You can come now. We are both done!"
To view, buy, or scoff at the PaintAthon paintings, go here and here.