Over a year ago, I decided to paint this dried tree in our garden.
A little backstory: This used to be my fairy tale tree, straight out of an Enid Blyton book. Little squirrels bounded on its branches, delicate purple sprays grew at its base, bright feathery friends made a cacophony all day. Yet, one season the leaves started shedding and over time, the tree got dried.
I had seen pictures of painted trees from Mumbai and loved the concept. I was convinced it would require a professional, and we tried contacting somebody. The sweet soul looked at the tree and a wall in our garden (another post!), and decided not to come back.
So, we took over. A gardener and I started the project, joined by some children from our building. It was fun! I felt like a child waiting to go down to play… we painted in the mornings and evenings, days were already becoming very warm.
Our tree was done in a week’s time.
The summer was intense last year. We had unexpected rains too. After the first few showers, I would peep out, expecting all the paint to have been washed out… It was all good. Winter brought the crisp cold and through the turns of the seasons, the tree stood tall.
The colors have faded a little, a creeper has decided to make its winding home on the trunk, some cracks have appeared….
The birds returned to the tree a few days after we finished painting it. I like to think it was not coincidence but our hand. The birds have stayed on ever since. And the magical tree has taken on a different form.
Begins with me... 