Walking Home at Dawn

When I was a child, I was good at more than one thing - painting was one of them. But growing up in a typical South Indian household, my parents gently nudged me toward academics. My South Indian friends will surely resonate with this - it’s almost tradition! “Art comes naturally to you,” they’d say. “You’ll score full marks anyway. Focus on math and science.” I laugh now, remembering those words.

Still, on weekends, I would walk up to my father with a drawing paper ripped from my drawing book, my watercolor palette, a cup of water, and a brush in hand. He’s an incredible painter - the one who taught me how to hold the brush, how to tilt it at different angles to create texture and movement, how to fade a color with water, how to create flowers and leaves with the simplest strokes. I used those same techniques with pencil, shading portraits and still lifes. I’d run to him, breathless with excitement, showing him what I’d made. He would just smile.

Recently, I found myself staring at a blank canvas, waiting for inspiration to arrive. And then a memory came back. My children and I love elephants. In fact, in my fourth-grade drawing exam, I drew one. My dad probably still has it in one of the folders somewhere. As someone of Indian descent, elephants hold a special auspicious symbol. For me elephants are magnificent animals that are larger than life. It reminds me of something ancient - like my ancestors, just timeless! One day, my daughter pulled up a picture online and asked, “Mumma, can you paint this?” The minute I looked at it, the picture tugged me. 

So, I began. Paying tribute to my ancestors - magnificent elephants walking home at dawn.

It took me five weekends to complete this painting. I’m a watercolor artist by heart, but this was my first attempt with acrylics.

This painting reminds me that the sun may go down, but it always rises again - perhaps may shine brighter tomorrow.
The elephants walking back home at dawn tells me that at the end of each day, we return to the place we call home - to our peace.
And there’s a deep understanding, that the people with whom we find peace are the ones who will stand beside our grave.
If we can recognize them while we live, that is the gift of discernment God has given us. And they are the ones we should spend our maximum time with - building beautiful memories, moment by moment.

Neeta Devadiga