Page 38 - All India Magazine Jul-2026

Two Lotuses

I wanted to offer something to the Mother. And I got the
idea of painting two lotuses, one white and the other red.
Curiously, I received two beautiful lotuses and took up the
painting. But due to other work I could not finish them in a
day. These too, like my other paintings, I did during my lunch
time as it gave me great joy. It took some days before I could
finish them little by little. Naturally it would have been better
if the colouring could have been done in one sitting. However
the result was not bad and it was with great joy that I took the
paintings to Mother on my birthday on 2 February 1940.
She received them very well indeed and exclaimed: "Oh!
Very pretty! Very pretty!" She wondered how I could get time
to do them. She took them in both hands and with a broad
smile said: "I give them to you, Champaklal! Take them, they are
for you. They are very pretty. You keep them."
I did not answer and did not take them. And she repeated:
"Take them, Champaklal, I give them to you as my present."
C: "But Mother! I have done them for you."
Seeing the state of my mind she found a way out. She
gave another broad smile and said softly, almost in a whisper:
"Champaklal, I will take them to Sri Aurobindo and I will ask him
to write on them."
I said: "Mother! Are you taking them to Sri Aurobindo? If so,
it would be very nice if you ask him to write the significance.
Mother! Sri Aurobindo will write on the white lotus and you will
write on the red one."
When Mother brought them to Sri Aurobindo I was there.
She showed them to him and said: "See, how nice they are!
Today is Champaklal's birthday; he has done these paintings
for me. If you write the significance on them I will give them to

All India Magazine, July 2026
38