Feature

Paint it Black

Fariha Ishrat Khandaker

ACTUALLY, it was long before the late 60s when the Rolling Stones decided to come up with a devotee song for a phenomenon that is as old as time itself. Whatever is there in the heavens and the Earth, from the hollowness of the outer reaches of man's imagination (….and any more random list of melodramatic jargons and phases to heighten the point), there has been the existence which can only be viewed by the naked eye as “blackness”. So, minus the 'ness', we are left the most mind-bogglingly awesomeness of a shade that is but as omniscient as the universe itself. If you are still pondering as to where I am going with all this, then sadly the diminutive nature of your brainwaves cannot comprehend what it clearly fails to see…all that is Black.

Now, that we delved into the abyss of a colour that has no limit, simply because it has no reflection and has rejected the light. Could it be …? That the Satanic code of elegance has really nothing to do with being evil but a mere emblem of explaining what we are unable to grasp even with our all-encompassing imagination. But, whatever the case is, the elegance factor is definitely true. Black not only hides your flaws (visually or characteristically), but heightens the sophistication factor, which is why most formal occasions have black as its signature colour in terms of attire. And, need it be mentioned that even before the colonial era, there lived in the hearts of men, the fantasy of what can only be coined as the exoticism of a dark beauty. There has even been speculation that the empress of beauty, lady Cleopatra herself, was black. Oh, let's not forget what they say about once you go black… (this is getting hard for those who are still pondering, isn't it? ). The Rastafarians would definitely agree. Well, this should definitely cure some insecurities that a friend of mine begrudges deep in his obscure renditions of self loathing.

On a more serious note, death, demons, omens, Wicca, black magic and all other superstitious and supernatural events and entities like to drape themselves in this ebony entrenchment of an achromatic spectrum. Then again, a black cat crossing your path giving you a day of sheer misery or a piano falling on your head has the improbability factor of three to the power seven thousand eight hundred ninety six to one exact (or so I've been told). But, seemingly enough, it is cooler to believe that vampires with their eccentric covens like to fly out of their black coffins in the night and terrorize local villagers ( Twilight, with its glittering pretty-boy excuse of a tortured teenage vampire soul is not part of the picture: for all you who started off 'pondering'). Good thing is, at least you're not all that boring.

Translucently enough, however, whether or not Batman and his fellow cape crusaders decide to fight crime and the forces of evil by night or at times even during the day, black seems to always be their choice for maintaining secrecy. Moreover, as enigmatic as a colour can get, black stands out as a solid mark of beauty, ambiguity, sorrow, and even prosperity; and one need be the black sheep in the herd to appreciate the splendor of everything that is black.

[picture source: deviantart.com]