Wish my butterfly would live forever

Wish my butterfly would live forever is a dream of a girl that stretched its wings during pandemic lockdown in Kolkata, a city of India.

“Wish my butterfly would live forever” is a dream of a girl that stretched its wings during pandemic lockdown in Kolkata city.

The more I started to feel losing control of my outer world, the more I started to behold the person whom I love the most – my daughter, and started taking picture of her. I got more time to spend with her in this period, who has just trod into teenage life. I got a chance to observe and understand her even more deeply. I started to explore her visions, so sublime and pre-eminent. “I would be a protector of the nature to safeguard forests, seas and sky. I would have my own place way far from these concrete jungle, under the blue and starry sky; butterflies will be my friends and flowers my finery” – she said. My initial thought of documenting suddenly changed from here onwards. I chose the path to represent the girl and her thoughts visually. Conceivably the story became an attempt to picture the girl lost in her imagined world.

The improvement of global health and seeking for a better earth is a priority now. And from another perspective, we are facing the ultimate question – what are we leaving for our future generation? Who is liable for all these chaos and who is going to heal it? I believe this story gives us a realization that we can certainly heal our world together if we earnestly want to, and for that, we must have an achievable dream to protect our planet, just like maintaining safety at our homes during the pandemic.

As another day just passed by and the sun touching the horizon, saying a warmth good bye for another bright morning. The wounded butterfly Suhani caught yesterday and treated it with all her care and tenderness, just flew away. She said, “Ma, wish my butterfly would live forever”.