During Covid, I had gone to the US to be with my daughter for her first delivery and the day I arrived, all the airports shut down. I stayed for 15 months – until the second vaccine – and among the many things that happened during that time was that I felt extremely rich. As a US citizen, I received two stimulus checks. It was a lot of money for someone who earned in rupees.
As one does, I decided to invest. In art.
I knew Catherine Lindow, a Scottish artist, because her mother had volunteered as a speech pathologist with us for many years. In the dark, closed-in days of the pandemic, her sprightly, action-packed watercolor of children moving in a wide range of dancey movements gave me hope.
The fact that one of the children just happened to be in a wheelchair, with no obvious “message,” sealed the deal. I invested. I bought the painting and saved it for when our building would finally be ready.
Now here’s the funny part. A friend who worked with disabled children retired and his colleagues wanted to give him a gift. He suggested that rather than give him something he didn’t need, they could donate a work of art to Latika. And the artist they chose? Catherine Lindow. People always say: What are the odds? but I’ve gotten used to it by now. The odds are always in our favor.
And the painting?
A young girl, transfixed by something she’s spotted, intent on getting it down on paper. The colors, the concentration, the sheer focus and determination. What better gift could we possibly receive?
