Thursday, September 5, 2013

Vexing Colors

Never have I been let down as badly as when I was taught about VIBGYOR in school. There I was thinking once I knew to distinguish between Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red, I would be all done with learning about colors. True, there is this strange omission of White and Black but then I could accommodate two more readily. After all, even a rainbow is not perfect.

True that I could not differentiate between Violet and Indigo unless I saw both colors together but, in time, I felt that I could possibly manage that feat. Hitherto, of course, I have barely been able to manage to identify Blue, Red and Green but I am sure that, in time, I could manage that difficult ambition of mine. (No! I am not color-blind. No! The doctor who certified that does not need his head examined.) There were also hot disputes between me and my sis about some color which she called dark orange and I felt was light red but such instances still did not touch the edges of my confidence about mastering colors.

Life teaches you to beware of over-confidence. Came the time when I started moving with women (as opposed to girls who, as every boy will agree, are silly creatures whose opinions do not count. And, no, I am not keen on learning what girls thought of boys) and, God, what is with all those shades of color? I mean did You really have to make so many shades of each damned color? Did no-one ever talk to You about minimalism? If You really had to do all that, however did You manage to finish and rest on the seventh day? Had You worked on the seventh day as well would You have managed to give men the ability to distinguish between all those shades which look roughly the same?

Here I was cursing the fact that I could not distinguish between shades being a mere man and a male friend dances in and talks glibly of azure and cerulean; auburn and amaranth; sepia and taupe and who knows what else. Am I not to even have the consolation that my inability is merely a consequence of my gender? I honestly wished that his wife had been around - he may have dried up once he knew someone knowledgeable was around to know whether he was right.

Be that as it may, I wish people would stop talking about seven colors. There seem to be seven gazillion and counting and I just do not want to know about it any more.

I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words 1st - 7th September 2013

68 comments:

  1. I can totally understand your dilemma. I have these ind of arguments with so many of my other male friends. Its actually my husband who surprises me with coming up color names on his own or from God knows where. He just knows.

    Thanks for the post :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So I am not alone! Thank God - is IS a gender thing :)

      Delete
  2. I am with you on this. While my girl friends would be adept in distinguishing between Tangerine orange, Sunrise orange, Candlelight orange or Monarch orange or Papaya orange... for me it is plain simple orange! Sigh...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haha...
    Now, This pic seems quite relevant to this post : http://t.co/ISsTOt7J86
    Your dilemma deciphered :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! Now that deciphering does not solve it :)

      Delete
  4. Very interesting post! I have always been fascinated by the colors of the rainbow.I never tried to dissect them or think of other variations.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Me too :) I know only the colours in VIBGYOR minus Indigo plus Black, Brown and White. The shades for me are nothing but light/very light/dark/very dark colour. I didn't know what colour Purple was, which I read in novels, until Google came into my life during my PG years ! And I have just come to know colours like azure, cerulean, auburn, amaranth, sepia and taupe exists, have to now Google them to see what colour hey actually are :)(No am not 70 yrs old and I did not live in a hole).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Colour and confusions.Its amazing each colours tint or tones has their names.Poor little minds.How we possibly know every color names.......

    http://sailorswiferamblings.blogspot.com/2013/09/seven-childhood-crushes.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have you noticed how some bloggers in our midst perpetuate this madness about colours? I have yet to come across a short story or a poem in the blogosphere where the mention of the sky is not deemed complete unless it has the word 'azure' slapped onto it, and the sea must always, always, always be 'cerulean'! :D
    I totally agree with your analysis!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah! So azure and cerulean ARE blue? :) Thanks for the info, Rickie :)

      Delete
  8. Ha ha ha...so many of similar tastes. Pink is pink, dark, light, lighter, darker, doesn't matter to me. And hey, you should be glad I didn't call it Red. :-)
    Nice post! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like to keep my colors simple, too! Great post!
    Penny
    http://pennymcdanielspiritualguidance.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sigh Suresh, you make me look stupid. I could not understand about music and no I do not understand colors too. So the question is what do I do understand??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never mind - I am in your company :) It is just that I write posts about things that I do not understand :)

      Delete
  11. Whew!I find myself in august company. Thank you for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, that was quite some googling done to come up with azure, amaranth, sepia and whatever else other colors that you have mentioned in your post.

    I completely emphatise with you and welcome you with open arms to the club of men who have no clue about the various shades and who don't even care to find out :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Googling is about all i can do with colors :) Can't even tell you what blue is on my blog :)

      Delete
  13. hehe Suresh you are so bang on! My husband gets frustrated when I begin telling him about mauve and lavender, and he insists they all look the same to him :). It is a gender thing, I am certain! Why indeed are we so clued into shades of colors much to the detriment of all males around us? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The least you can do is leave us poor guys out of these color debates :)

      Delete
  14. how would u know how difficult it is to find that exact matching dupatta for a dress or a blouse for a saree? or even matching bindis? :) that is why we are so gifted with this talent of painfully knowing one shade of blue from another...turquoise, firozi, aquamarine, royal blue, ink blue, sky blue, cobalt blue, electric blue, navy blue, light blue, baby blue, midnight blue, Prussian blue...actually there are more....! and mind u this is only for blue..there are more colours...... but for the fear of being sent to the spam bin, i'll stop right here! :) ;) btw am i the only one here who has this fascination for colours and shades?!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Be as fascinated as you will - only please do not retch when we guys just call it 'a sort of blue' :)

      Delete
  15. Why do they give such difficult names to colours? Some are pronounced in a weird way. Once I complimented a friend on her 'purple' dress. 'Oh, it's not purple it's mauve' and the way she pronounced it, I thought she would puke any moment. :P
    Okay, now I am going to google amarnath colour. :D

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ho these colors escape me too! How am i supposed to diff bn indigo n violet .. phew!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks more and more like it is not even a gender thing, Only a few gifted people seem able to make colors out :)

      Delete
  17. I agree with you and have trouble distinguishing between colors. I am like, why the whoke f*** up bout colors::) Great post I can identify with.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to have struck a chord with you at last Vishal :)

      Delete
    2. No better way to understand the wisdom in the saying "What is in a name" and just enjoy the gazillion different shades of colors. I am happy that I can distinguish white and black with the very clear understaning that everything in the world is at best 'shades of gray"! Totally understand your frustration, my friend!

      Delete
    3. Thanks Kumar for leaving one of your rare imprints on my blog

      Delete
  18. I believe the same...Too many choices end up in complexities...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My problem is that I cannot even visually make out the differences :)

      Delete
  19. hahaha I call my husband color blind... how can one not differentiate between white and off white and ash color :D loved the post :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean there are different shades of white too? Ye Gods! :)

      Delete
  20. I never could differentiate between fuscia and pink. I always thought they were both pink... but it seems not. I am utterly flummoxed.

    Dagny

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pea brain cannot handle any more color options, Dagny :)

      Delete
  21. I'm not color blind yet I cannot distinguish blue and indigo. Just different shades of blue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I say too Talya! I AM not color blind, it is just the colors which are too confusing :)

      Delete
  22. I can't tell the colours beyond the seven colours either. Infact I dont think I will be able to tell violet from purple :) And someone please tell me how is Lilac different from all these:-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I feel a lot better. I have lots of great compaby :)

      Delete
  23. There are more colors than can even be imagined! Just ask the Crayola company that makes crayons. Unless you worked there I can't imagine ever being able to distinguish between them all.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I worked there, Kathy, they may end up making only 7 colors or firing me :)

      Delete
  24. In school, I had learnt about men being color blind and this is a double proof ;)

    When I say orange, better half says...really? cause he has rust in mind

    Sigh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So why don't you take it as a physical difference like all the others and ignore it? :) Instead of trying to get the poor man to learn :) After all, you never expect him to carry the baby to term or blame him for not doing so :)

      Delete
  25. Made me laugh out loud!Don't worry I don't think you're alone in your colour troubles...my husband blinks blankly at me when I try to get him to appreciate subtle difference in shades of a colour too :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After this post I know I am not alone in this world :)

      Delete
  26. Only a woman can identify fifty shades of green and look horrified when you call her purplish-olive handbag green :-)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I am with you here, Suresh. I have never been able to understand how girls could remember so many colors!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I like my colours. I can't imagine a world in black and white. But yes, I agree we should keep it simple and not bring in a million or more shades. I have trouble with violet and indigo too - they pretty much look the same to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How did I miss answering this? Great that I have support on both sides of the 'gender divide' :)

      Delete
  29. I'm with you on this. M not color blind and totally love my blues-reds-yellows until they turn into azure-carmine-chrome!!!

    I love how your every post brings a smile to my face! Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Even me likes the simple world where just reign three colors , blue , yellow and green and ofcourse sea green and the deep cobalt blue and just before the dawn orange ...Damn ! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There you go - into all those nit-picking details :)

      Delete
  31. My wife has this truckload of nail paints and half of them are of the same colour. When I point this out to her, she gives me this are-you-crazy look and starts telling be about different shades of red, brown and pink.
    It is very distressing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha! You have my heartfelt sympathies, Amit :)

      Delete
  32. Seven gazillion and counting covers it. I bet even God does not know all the different shades.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If it is a He and not a She then I am sure 'He' does not :)

      Delete
  33. Hi Hi, I remember before I got married, I messaged my husband that the reception saree I had bought was 'cement green' :D the whole family had racked their brains as to when cement would be green :D There were one or two brilliant souls who explained that its somewhat like the color of wet cement :D Now my son does not say dark blue, he says Indigo and he knows what beige is . I knew that around when I was 25 :D

    ReplyDelete