Fragments of Conversations - an art piece by Harshit Lakshman

To the-one-that-got-away,

It was the day when the one I loved, was moving to Dubai with her parents. To stay committed in a relationship where there is distance, was an overwhelming decision. But, this one line made me stay; “Distance only makes love stronger”, she had said before leaving.

I’ll let you in on the backstory now. She was an Industrial designer and was passionate about art. She motivated me to pursue sketching as she believed I could do well in it, more than I did. Soon enough, she and I had built an interdependency.

Our days would start with good morning texts, followed by dwelling into the conversations of the little things in our lives - things that didn’t matter much but were comforting to share anyway. I would be in college or with my friends doing something or the other, and as she would be working on her own things building a portfolio and all that. But, throughout the day, we’d coexist by keeping each other next to ourselves, on video calls. Thanks to technology. I am all up for old school love stories and classics, but, Zoom really was my pigeon.

We used to call each other at exactly 8:00 p.m. IST, post my evening football match. And we’d talk into the night, without ever caring for more intimacy than sharing a screen.

Eventually, COVID happened and everything tinted into a shade duller. I, somehow, started creating digital art pieces. I learned to make them from scratch with a mouse, which was the toughest thing (not being snobbish, the graphic designers here would understand my pain). This and my father’s work around the house, drove me to buy a sketchbook. Although, she still uses a mouse, which I have always admired. Guess, you just learn to love things this way, when you find others doing so.

As the law of the land says, all sweet things must come to an end at some point, so it did. The distance strayed us apart. It’s bittersweet now, but I drew this for you.

A toast to her, love, art, and the couples holding each other even as distance pulls you.

For the love of art.

Harshit