The creator and his creation

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRkyGaiMu4Y]
He was a potter. Making pots was his profession. It was also his passion. There are a very few people for whom their passion also becomes their profession.

He had seen everything. Pure moments of joy and utter hopelessness. He had seen the extremities of both. He found out quite early the risks of being passionate about ones profession. But his passion was too strong to let go a vocation that he loved.

There was nothing like waking up in the morning and rotating the wheel to make a pot. He kept the wheel moving and was rewarded with some of the most beautiful and graceful curves that a pot could ever hope to get. People thought that there was some kind of magic in his hands and he was perhaps blessed with the skill. But only he knows how much he toiled to master the craft. But he loved working hard at his favourite skill. He had a secret ingredient – Love. He was passionate about his love and dedication for making the best shapes. His eyes never failed to find out the minutest flaws or identify a brilliant pattern.

Patterns. He was very good at identifying them. He was also good at creating them. Not that he consciously trained for it, but this was an unconscious reward for all his hard work. He thought that there was a pattern for everything in life, not only his pots. He wondered at the master architect of life for having created such an artistic piece of world which seemed arbitrary at first glance, but deep down he thought that there was a specific pattern to happenings. The patterns and their connections were so nakedly visible to him that he never complained. Even when the wheel of life left him all alone. He thought it was better for people to live under illusions as the naked truth is very hard to accept.

There was something he was not able to understand – commerce. Lots of people visiting him gave him lots of advice as to how cheap he had priced his wares and how much more he could earn if he sold them in the nearby town. They also told him that he ought to paint the pots as it would look colourful. He never understood the last point. What better colour can there be than the colour of the earth – brown? How could a pot look beautiful in green or yellow or blue? To him, those colours were highly artificial and he thought his creations looked best in their raw form. In the colour of mother earth.

His wares were under priced and he knew that the wholesalers were selling them at a very high price in the neighbouring town. In fact, he had no fixed pricing strategy. Forget it, he had no strategy. He priced his wares according to his necessities. The prices went up and down like a stock market without any logic and so frequently. But no one complained. He always managed to make more money than he wanted.

Since he was quite popular in his locality, he was rarely approached by journalists. Once, a reporter from a national newspaper asked him if he got any support from the Government.

He replied,

“Why should the Government support me? I am not affected or something. To a creator, creating a masterpiece gives immense happiness. Much more than selling it for the highest price or becoming world famous because of it”

To a creator, his creation is his happiness.

ssp

You could visit the Short Stories (Fiction) Section of this blog to read more such stories.

Destination Infinity

26 thoughts on “The creator and his creation

  1. Solilo

    DI, That is beautiful but you know I thought you are going to connect it to THE CREATOR. Equating him to a potter on how he creates each one of us differently.

    As long as one is happy and content. Everyone has different ways to be. If it is the right way. 🙂

    1. Destination Infinity

      I tried to explore the bigger 'Creator' too, and included some lines on that too, but decided to take the subject away from the bigger questions. Mainly due to lack of clarity from my side!

      The right way is interpreted by different people differently. I only wish there was a Right way to live for Dummies given to us for ready made reference by the 'Creator'. But alas, we are left with our own interpretations. Sometimes, I think even this is quite interesting!

      Destination Infinity

  2. Kislay Chandra

    Beautiful DI . Soul stirring . You are quite the philosopher .

  3. Smitha

    That was very beautiful, DI!

  4. hitchwriter

    Lovely DI !! really lovely !!

    like kislay says.. you are a philosopher.. ! very much so..

  5. Ashwathy

    beautiful!!! 🙂 very well written…

  6. kanagu

    Very beautifully written DI… I liked it much 🙂 very nice 🙂

  7. Winnie the Poohi

    🙂 This was beautiful.. Infact I am quite envious.. how wonderful it would be to work on something that one is passionate about 🙂

  8. Indyeah

    To a creator, his creation is his happiness.
    beautiful DI!

    life is about passion for that one thing or maybe many for some…
    fortunate are those who realize what it is that they are passionate about…

    once again beautiful post DI!

    1. Destination Infinity

      Yes, fortunate are those who realize what they are passionate about and those who are able to be passionate about it for a pretty long time.

      Destination Infinity

  9. Molly

    DI–
    I loved this story. Was really moved. "To a creator, his creation IS his happiness."

    That one is staying with me.

    Peace,

    Molly

  10. axinia

    DI, a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l story, enjoyed it a lot!

    I even sent a link to a freind who is a potter himself – this story reminds me of him.

    1. Destination Infinity

      It should be interesting to see what he thinks… I have just imagined the situation!

      Destination Infinity

  11. parry

    such a simple story but u made it more effective by giving words to it.
    how many are so lucky to make our passions our profession?

  12. Nita

    DI, I think this story is good. And you have brought out an important thing tha we human beings need to have for happiness. Enjoyment of one's work and pride in it. If you have this, you are happy and need nothing else! In fact I would go one step further and say that one can enjoy all kinds of work. It's the attitude.

  13. Destination Infinity

    @All: Thanks.

    @Nita: //One can enjoy all kinds of work// – That is true!

    Destination Infinity

  14. Sandhya

    Very well written.

    I thought when I was half way through this article, that you are talking about 'CREATOR'. Yes, happiness is important in whatever you are doing. But appreciation from others is also important, I feel.

    1. Destination Infinity

      Sometimes appreciation becomes everything for us, in spite of the creation. It has become like advice – free for everyone. Appreciation can be detrimental, but these are rare cases. I feel that as a society, we should set high standards and work towards achieving quality in the things that we do.

      Destination Infinity

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  16. Man of Roma

    Very well written, inspiring and true.

    1. Destination Infinity

      Thanks MOR. I am not very sure if following our passions is the best way, but I do hope so, like so many others.

      Destination Infinity

  17. Indian Homemaker

    Very true DI!! And congratulations for being picked up as a Spicy Saturday post by Blog Adda 🙂

    1. Destination Infinity

      Did you notice the irony in it? This is the first time that I have written that getting noticed is not important, and I get noticed! 🙂

      Destination Infinity

  18. Amit

    Beautifully written and yes its ironical but well deserved. 🙂

    1. Destination Infinity

      Thanks Amit….

      Destination Infinity

  19. Reema

    beautiful post. congrats!

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