Art from the heart.

An inch and a half square when halved, this little piece of paper dangles from a little green wool string .The paper just folds over the string and  two small knots keep the wool from being undone. Hanging delicately from a nail, this is a tiny ‘greeting card’ a child made for her   grandparents long ago. Catching the breeze from the window or the fan it flutters precariously.

The open cupboard has a few wooden shelves. To the edge of one shelf at eye level hangs this little card from a tiny nail, jostling with a small scissors on a neighboring nail. Every time the scissors or the pen stand behind is used, the card falls. Placing the folded piece over the string it is easily re-assembled and hung back on the nail.

A fond look passes over the faces of the two aging recipients of this card. The child who had made it is now a strapping teen. She loves the busy city and all its attractions -the shopping malls, dim sum eat outs, school friends, the internet and her enjoys being always on the move in a ‘happening’ city.

Coming from the hot summer of North India every summer, she marveled at the hessian rope swing tied diligently every year to the mango tree awaiting her family's visit. Padding the coarse rope with soft cushions and blankets she squabbled with her sister for turns on the swing which had a skewed trajectory owing to the upward slant of the extended branch. Delicious mangoes, watermelons and jackfruit were treats. Small cups filled with delicious homemade eats and days spread lazily ahead interspersed with visits to the park or walks in the safe quiet neighborhood. The rains were a huge pleasure as she watched the huge drops beat a noisy rhythm on the tall coconut trees or their mango tree. Sometimes a scramble ensured to save the cushions from getting wet in a sudden downpour.

Every day the walls of the small house and the garden resounded with the sweet voices of the sisters as they played, quarreled and sang songs. Their constant chatter and happy feet filled the house and hearts of their grandparents with joy. Their pretty clothes washed carefully would festoon the clotheslines on the terrace. But how quickly the days would pass!

Unfinished paintings, coloring books, comics, broken crayons and clothes that refused to fit in the bulging suitcases were left behind. These possessions spent the remaining months safely in a box and were joyfully reclaimed like old friends the next summer. Their absence was very much felt but a few phone calls from far away would slowly let them pick up their lives and the grandparents looked forward to the next visit.The little ones too joyfully awaited their next summer visit.

I’m not really for parents going gaga over their children, but the penciled drawing on this small card is really beautiful in a stark simple way.

There is a big sun on the upper left corner and two fat birds opposite it on the rightmost corner. Two stick figures almost holding hands are racing towards a vehicle in a barren terrain to reach what looks like a space ship. Maybe it was intended to be a car or an aeroplane but it looks like no vehicle on earth; all this on an inch and a half square of paper in shaky pencilled lines. The other half of the paper has the dedication -‘To Ajja and Ajji from Saraswathi’ inscribed in a small handwriting.

It cannot beat a store bought card or an electronic one that breaks out into a song or explosion of colour and movement. It hangs there year after year, a little grubby from handling but a sweet expression of affection.