La Serenissima

Just at a time when I wanted to make a good comeback at my blog and have been wondering with a ‘What on?’ in my mind, Venice offered an irresistible subject for me. No, I have not been there. Not yet, at least. But it figures in my bucket list. And I can still talk about it. Most of the things in life, I may not know anything about; yet I talk. A lot. Don’t ask me what makes the pulp then; you might get some great fruit juice, even if by fluke, just talk to me! :) (No, no. I don’t roam around with a fruit basket or something. I am only talking about ‘Juice for thought’, if there is anything like that! And I am sure those who know me can see that I have deliberately avoided an allusion to double entendre, my usual comedy wand. It shall no more remain my regular).

Venice, a classic favorite for lots of renowned artists in the past, has always intrigued & enchanted me just as much as it had charmed them. Only that my painting is on a delusional canvas & can be seen only by me. ;). A recent show I watched on the television; 1000 places to Visit before you die; served as an appetizer to enhance the lure of Venice, which resides in me in harmony with many other lures :). Obviously, Venice featured as one in the 1000. It just had to. A traveler couple hosted the show or rather experienced Venice on air, giving something for us to relish, as well. Though I caught up with the show only half way through, that waft of Venice charmed my heart & mind just enough.

Venice, as I saw (on TV!), had a very ‘rooted’ air about it, where you can still, this long after creation, connect better with the beginning of time. The architecture seemed ancient & ‘earthy’. The lack of sophistication in the concrete part has made Venice a classic city. Simplicity seemed the grand virtue of the city, like it is, perhaps, in some beautiful villages back home in India This quality in these places could be comparable; but the experience differently gratifying, am sure. The harmonious existence of man-made structures alongside generous, almost untouched drape of nature made the place very warm & heart stirring in a way.

The ‘water person’ in me was smiling when I saw people travel, in this City of Waters, in peaceful unions in gondolas. (A cousin of catamarans’ perhaps; I know I can google up, but I’d rather keep my writing as raw as I am. All you get is all there is. :) ). The river seemed spotted with gondolas everywhere yet there were expanses of empty space on the surface huge enough for one to look into, to know better & to befriend the lagoon. The length & strength of their friendship with the lagoon was very much evident as the gondolas & their gondoliers glided through taking it for granted almost as much as sunset & sunrise. It felt as though the lagoon was reassuring its love through its silent ripples with the metal bows in the gondolas, looking over the vows ,giving a desired illusion of smiling back at me.

Then there were the glass artisans; the glass making lineage apparently exists in Venice since the thirteenth century and it showed in the way they effortlessly gave life to a mere shapeless glass in molten form, by blowing it up & with quick skillful strokes, sculpting it into desired forms. It just took time in seconds to make each of the sculptures & I was awe-struck not just at how they made those art pieces, but at how they still employ century old methods and at how strongly they felt about themselves as artists and sculptors; nothing more & nothing less.

Another simple yet fascinating work, Venice & Italy as such are known for, is apparently, their Mask-making. The whole culture coloring the mask-making art sounded so much fun & very creative; each & every mask they made seemed bohemian in their own way in that they had not many similarities and was quite unique.

Venice sparkles with carnivals as much as it does with its centuries aged culture to which the pigeons have been mute, happy spectators so much so that they will not leave anyone who visit the St. Marc’s square where they live, in large numbers, a proud, privileged life.

This is undoubtedly, not all about Venice. All it is a mere reflection over what I saw in a show (!), just a whiff through my perception. But being aware is not all; it only makes you thirstier. So, somebody, anybody, let those pigeons know well before that my family would be visiting them in the future; ask them to stay prepared coz we will settle for nothing short of the warmest welcome!

And Venice, await us! We will come to experience you soon; to kiss at sunset under your Bridge of Sighs, to solemnize our eternal love & wishing to return for more Venetian kisses in continuing celebration. ;) :)