Nail Polish Memories

I am getting my nails painted after a long time. Maybe i forgot that little dose of happiness i received while painting my nails, maybe i got indulged in so many other hobbies so that i forgot to do this or maybe because maintaining the hygiene while growing them was such a chore. Whatever it is, painting my nails was always a little therapeutic. I mostly used shades of yellow, green or blue because i have an unexplainable propensity for these colors, especially viridian (a shade of green), lemon yellow and Prussian blue. These shades were always my favourite, whether it is for nail art or for doing some other paintings or crafts.

Today when i was painting my nails, many memories crossed my mind, some sweet, some bitter. That how some guy from my high school once told me, that too after many years, “hey, you used to wear green nail polish during your high school days”, which obviously made me happy, because somebody remembering those little details about you is always a source of happiness. Or how some professor complemented my yellow nail polish mixed with an abstract green design during my first MBBS physiology practical hours as cool, which suddenly elevated my mood because growing our nails or wearing a nail paint was always a taboo in medical colleges. Once i did half of each of my nails green and other half red and went for paediatrics practical examination. I was picking up some specimens and explaining it, but the madam suddenly asked me, “Oh how you paint your nails? Do u do each half separately and wait?”, and that relieved my anxiety in a split second.

There are also bitter memories, like how one of my toxic exes never allowed me to paint my nails and made a huge ruckus about it whenever i did that or how i got shamed for painting my nails during my early teenage days when girls growing their nails or painting them was seen mostly as a sin (I still don’t know why). Out of all, my favorite memory is a bitter sweet one, about a girl whom i loved a lot. I was staying with her one day and she drew some beautiful designs on my nails with a sketch pen and then painted them. I still remember how that little act of love made me feel so happy then and how i fondle that moment in my memories till this day even though i don’t have her in my life now.