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The world is full of symbolic imageries hidden in plain sight. If you care to look around, you would find that even the most ordinary of all objects are heavily laden with meanings that trespass their literal territories and make us dive head-long into the realm of their symbolic significance.

Consider the case of the red rose. It is only a flower but does it not stand metaphorically as a confession of love and passion? Or the rainbow for that matter. Is it only a prismatic spectrum of colors or could it signify something deeper? Perhaps good luck and happiness? And the penny that you sometimes find on the ground while walking? A possible significance of an on-coming fortune?

Our everyday life with its repertoire of objects, flora, fauna, ancient scriptures, religions and traditions is replete with figurative connotations that surpass their face value. And sure, these phenomena are relative. They are indeed self-created signs of luck and superstition. And yet, a possibility, a bigger one looms in the background. Can they possibly be notes from the universe? Are they infused with subliminal messages that remain to be interpreted? Think about it. Aren’t they sometimes, interpreted by us through the “vibe”, the “energy” or the “intuition” we receive when we put ourselves in their contact?

Which is to say that basically, we can second-guess the nature of almost everything. And colors, seasons and even numbers fall directly into this mix.

Let’s now consider the curious case of Basanti. How does the energy of these three syllables transcend into your symbolic mind? (Cue: Let’s feign Bollywood amnesia here for the moment and forget the greatness that was Sholay. C’mon, play along  )
No? Okay, help’s on its way!
Basanti.

Basanti is the spring that always comes back to us. It is the rise of the vernal equinox and the flourishing of the nature. It’s the panoramic vision of azure skies, lush green fields of golden-y mustard, sashaying in the spring breeze of early April. It is the blossoming of the flowers, the post-hibernation phase of the animals, the yawning and the stretching of the earth as it resurrects itself like a phoenix out of its ashes again.