Day Seven: Give and Take

Today’s Prompt: Write a post based on the contrast between two things — whether people, objects, emotions, places, or something else.

The little bell on the door tinkled as it was pushed open. Mani looked up from his desk and saw the young couple enter arm in arm, so close to each other that even a fly wouldn’t be able to fly between them. He wondered what brought them to the gallery. They didn’t really look the type who could afford modern Indian Masters.

“Oooh just look at that,” cooed the girl, peering at the canvas from her fringe.

“Not bad,” replied her friend, disengaging himself from her grasp and stepping back to get a clearer look at the picture.

“Not bad? I should think not. At 150k it should be very, very good.”

“150 k! That’s a bit much! Frankly, I’m not really into modern art. I’d much rather go for the classics like Ravi Verma. ”

“Why am I not surprised? You never seem to like the stuff that I do. If I like modern, you like ancient. If I like bold, You like muted. We’re as alike as chalk and cheese. But just in case you didn’t know, Ravi Verma’s aren’t cheap. They can easily  go into millions of dollars even!”

“Not if you go for the prints. There are lots of them around which are almost as good as the originals. And if you frame it in a nice frame, it will look just as nice as your ‘contemporary Indian artists’,” he said, barely concealing the sneer in his voice.

“Look here, no need to get so touchy. Just because my mom is into modern art doesn’t mean that it is bad. I mean , just look at this this – Vaikuntham at his best – strong earthy colours.”

“Oh let’s not reduce everything into a fight. We were having such a nice day, isn’t it?”

“Hmm, I agree,” she said and went back to nuzzling him while he played with her hair.

They walked around the gallery a bit, stopping before each painting.

“I can see why he appeals to you. Modern and Bold. But give me Ravi Verma any day. Who can really resist his women, almost celestial with their typical Indian features  and sensuous looks in dark, zari bordered saris, that come alive with his skilled brush strokes.”

“Well, Ravi Verma is a Master too. But there’s so much of his art that’s commercialised in calendars that I’d much rather go for an original Vaikuntham than a Verma print. I just love his figures – so striking and colourful.”

“Indeed he looks great but not on my walls and definitely not at this price!”

“Of course we can’t afford him. But we can afford to admire him isn’t it?”

The two left the gallery and Mani went back to his catalogue work.