Love is a mental disorder

It was a typical setup for such traditional restaurant,high back seats neatly packed against each other with a square table in between. He was sitting next to a young couple having an argumentative conversation and he inadvertently became part of a important chapter of their life story.

“Loving is not always an easy task. Love comes with it's share of pain and guilt. Men fall in love more than women but you simply do not care.” she said.  

“ Yea! when women do fall in love, they become addicted to the feeling more easily. But unfortunately I am not a woman” came the reply.

“People invariably find the person who they fall in love with attractive and they write poetry or sing love songs. You are so different and difficult,” she quipped.

“This is not funny!” he said. “ Love is a mental disorder and I cannot transform into an insane to impress you. I am what I am. Period.”

“What's that you said? Now I know, I must be mad to love you so much” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Different people may exhibit different symptoms of love but when you list them down and compare with the diagnostic criteria of madness, you will realize.I will give you some example..” but before he could continue, she snapped.

“ I do not want any of your stories and explanation. I would rather be mad than sane for the sake of my love.”

“Preoccupation with lover is no different from obsessional illness. Feeling the urge to cry or ecstasy are bipolar disorder often referred to as depression. All points to one reality ….. Love is a mental illness.” He wanted to clear out the smog collecting around their relationship. But she got up and walked of saying ...

“ I was in love but you are SICK! Tomorrow morning I will be better but you will remain a loner till you change yourself ”

She never saw him again........
#thatstory

Deception, thy name is Trompe-l'œil

There is an interesting story about deceptive painting involving two renowned Greek painters from around 464 BC. Zeuxis, once produced a still life so real that it convinced the birds to peck at the grapes in there. Parrahasius, a rival artist later invited Zeuxis to judge one of his paintings after pulling back a tattered curtains in his study. But when Zeuxis tried, he could not, as the curtains too were part of that Parrhasius's painting. 

This form of painting would probably be categorized as l trompe-l'œil.

Trompe-l'œil as defined by Wiki is French for "deceive the eye". This is a technique of art which uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. A typical trompe-l'œil mural might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room.

This is also written as trompe l’oeil in English and is thought to have originated much earlier than our documented history. Examples are found in murals from Greek and Roman times.

This also reminds me of our own mythological story of Mahabharata. When the Pandevas invited their cousins Kauravas to their new palace, Duryodhan had trouble differentiating real from illusions making a clown of himself in the process.

About a decade ago, I was involved in a project for one of the royals and that was my introduction to the world of trompe l’oeil. We had crew of artist sent out from our Rome office to do carry out the task. It was the female bedroom of the suite in his so to say winter getaway. The idea was to have the drapes painted on the walls to match those installed on the windows. I was the architect overseeing the commissioning of the fit-out and was quite pleased to be part of the overall experience. While leave some imagery from that job here, I will save the description of its application process for another time and place.

Life is not fair

Life is not fair.It is a thought she felt started to cross her mind more often than anyone else in the whole world. This negative feelings came back without fail during her childhood whenever things went against her wishes. In the face of all odds of being a single parent, her mother was the epitome of positivity, who always kept her motivated. That was some 24 years back when she was just a little girl of 10 and could barely perceive what fairness in life really meant.

“ I am born out of a wedlock and have never seen my father” was her biggest complaint. As a teen, she could barely find solace in the assurance that she was a love child born out of deep love and affection between two persons. It was too deep a philosophy for her to understand the complexities of human lives, their social constraints, their limits and helplessness. A couple who love each other cannot always get married and it is their love that let one see the constraints and shines the light to move on.

“ Life's not fair!”was the first thought that came to her mind this morning. She could feel that he was gone. And, soon this house, this bedroom, the furniture, the garden with the trees they planted together will have little meaning. The hibiscus, the rose, the marigold in the garden will lose their colors and look pale.

They both agreed that this relationship was on borrowed time with no future of its own. The temptation of stealing this period of togetherness weighed much heavier than being with someone else for eternity.  Now that he is gone, it was the strangest feeling she ever had.

Maybe it is her destiny that she was re-living a chapter from her mother’s life or perhaps it was coded into her genes...