There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.

– Vincent van Gogh

 

Vincent van Gogh’s striking artworks include The Starry Night, Sunflowers and so on. His works featured vivid colours and vibrancy. Artists have long searched for beauty in landscapes and monuments, yet some of the greatest masterpieces are found in ordinary human lives. A mother is one such masterpiece. She embodies love, love and love. She herself is an artist whose canvas is her family and whose colours are her kindness, hope and perseverance. The portrait she paints so painstakingly is filled with the colours of mesmerising memories. Her life is a reminder of her endurance and a reminder of the beloved people in her life and cherished relationships.  

An old mother's face is not just a reflection of her ripening age. Still, every wrinkle carries the memory of sacrifice, every silver strand tells a story of resilience, and every gentle smile holds the warmth of unconditional love. If life itself is a work of art, then motherhood is one of its finest creations. Relationships are, yet again, subtle works of art that require attention, empathy and honesty to remain vibrant. Every meaningful relationship—between a mother and child, friends, spouses, neighbours, or colleagues—is sustained by the ability to understand another person's emotions before judging their actions. This understanding resembles the work of a compassionate doctor who looks beyond visible symptoms to discover the true cause of suffering. It is an act of careful listening, observation, and empathy. Just as a doctor must distinguish between appearance and reality before prescribing treatment, we too must seek to understand one another before offering opinions or passing judgment. Many emotional wounds in relationships arise not from hatred but from misunderstanding.

The eight stories in this edition exude emotions in myriad hues. One of Us is a portrayal of how a beautiful friendship survives age and time. The Sound of Silence is a subtle yet affirmative note that misunderstanding can be dangerous. Market Price is a depiction of how a mother embraces completely and exudes love forever; yet she becomes a victim in her final phase. Among Broken Statues displays that, however difficult the times may be, there is always hope, like the rising sun each morn. Jilebi is yet another tale that demonstrates that a Mother and love are perhaps synonyms in the way they relate to humans. Being judgmental can prove to be fatal, as in Judgment. Art is prismatic, as seen in The Colourful Rays. A doctor saves lives, but he too is a victim of deteriorating time and age, as portrayed in The Last Case.

Interestingly, all the stories in this issue explore human emotions – they speak about motherhood, artists, relationships, physicians – all tied with the same thread of empathy and compassion. Read on!