For all my life, I had distanced myself from the colour pink for the dread of being associated with the stereotypes it came with. However, during my recent travels to Kochi, it was impossible to ignore the many dashes of hot pink I spotted in almost all of its cubbies and corners.The people here seem to seldom shy away from colour. Their homes, their clothes, and their food all follow vibrant, vast, and sharply contrasting colour palettes. Most interestingly, it was a sight to see how the city embraced such a heavily typecasted colour. I found pink everywhere, from the nets of fisherfolk, on police cars, to solid shirts, lungies, and on lottery tickets.
Although these choices may come across as kitsch, they bring a certain unwitting queerness and tenderness to the experience of Kochi - a place that seems to sit outside the orbit of gender policing based on colour.
What I wish upon you, is to feel what this experience did for me. As you spot more and more people and things sporting this pink, I hope it helps you build a fresh approach to colour - one that is more innocent, more courageous, unscathed by prejudice, and importantly, plain unbothered!