Fishy tales

For city dwellers and urban jungle denizens, visiting New Zealand is like an entry into a greenhouse. Leaping off this Monetesque canvas of natural beauty are the colours of their native Maori culture and tradition. The aboriginal art is akin to that we find in India. The tribesfolk use earth colours and natural dyes and handmade sheets of paper for their artwork. I chanced upon a Maori man selling his paintings at a local street fair. This painting of two fish struck a chord (Bengalis are a fish-loving people, anyway) and I had to have it. I rolled it up carefully and brought it back with me on the long flight home and it now graces the walls of my home, a gentle reminder of a lovely country and its beautiful native traditions.