Of Carr(bb)iages and Kin(g)kades

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.
Unknown

Jigsaws have always been a favorite with the family , especially for Mom and me.It all started when Altoid sent us our first Thomas Kinkade Jigsaw puzzle.It was quite an innocuous looking box that read "Sweet Heart Cottage - 1000 pieces".Now , I had seen 50 , 100 piece jigsaws , but this was 10 times that ,and it was an oil painting for crying out aloud ! That too by Thomas Kinkade who is referred to as the "Painter of Light".But the saving grace was that these pieces were the one-time-lock variety.That is to say , you couldn't sort of force two wrong pieces together , the pieces were cut so each would lock into the correct piece.The parcel was brought to us by Altoid's colleague and while he forced yet another plate of Mysore pa and coffee while complaining about his India visit and the effect it had had on his digestive system, Amma and I beamed at the new arrival.That night , we cleared out the study table (I was in my final semester then) and we poured out all the 1000 pieces on to a sheet of newspaper.And then put them all back in.We were never going to get it done.It was just a humongous waste of time!

Altoid calls up the next morning to ask about our progress.

Ma: " Hello , did you take your digestion medicine?"
Altoid: " Did you two get started on the jigsaw , I want to see it framed on my next visit"
Ma : " Why did you waste your money on a jigsaw! You should've sent me some poplin material"
Altoid : " Look at S's bro , S sent him the same thing and he's finished it in 2 months flat!"

That night , Amma and I held conference. While I fumed over S's brother's superior intellect and jigsaw piecing capabilities , Amma sorted out pieces by color ; into little plastic boxes that we received for Shankaranthi. It was bad enough having to compete with friends and classmates over marks , but the goddamn misery of it! All for a measly piece of jigsaw , pun and all that! My ego had been suitably woken up, stirred and bashed up.From that day on , Amma and I used to sit at the table ,every day for an hour after dinner.We started off with the corner pieces , probably a rule of thumb for all jigsaws , and worked our way towards the center.The most exciting pieces were that of the cat , the heart shaped gate ,the portrait at the window and the chimney with the N on it. The N is a Kinkade trademark , found in all his paintings , after his wife Nanette.Working on a jigsaw is akin to life , you have a preconceived notion when it comes to what should fit where , and that wont happen how much ever you try , then , an unexpected piece will find itself in your hands , fit in and make total sense ! :)

Sadly, we didn't frame this jigsaw (Imagine! After all the trouble!) and hence I'm left with just this image.

These are the ones that we actually framed and shamelessly show off to all our guests.

Evening at Swanbrooke Cottage, Thomashire


The second time around , we were more aware , and more experienced.The maid was strictly forbidden from sweeping away anything that remotely resembled a jigsaw piece.Our friends who dropped in for a cup of coffee would helpfully piece in some more pieces and ask us the status periodically.



Country Memories













Our current project is a 1000 piece Clementoni by Degas called "The Dancing Lesson".We have gotten as far as the frame , Vi has laboriously pieced the right most corner whilst laying a pink cheek over the frame and looking dolefully at the myriad brown pieces.Much thanks , Vi :P.Sigh.We just have to be content with the ballerina's shoe as of now.

:)






Update to add : As it turned out , S's brother had set off to do it , but he gave up half way , apparently he said "It was a humongous waste of time". Ahem.