The Fall has inspired many a poet to pen some incredible verses. And sometimes set a backdrop for many a film. It has also changed the lives of a unique couple on their visit to Boston during the Fall.

Gopalkrishan Beri (64), a retired senior engineer from BHEL and his wife Kamlesh Beri, a teacher from Bhopal picked up the dried leaves the Fall left behind to create some unusual handwork.

 The dry leaf creations paint unerasable images in the minds of children, for whom it is predominantly meant for. It showcases messages for them in patterns they have not seen before. Sometimes, you see an entire book based on one theme but branching out in different directions.  

This is how Beri puts it, “When we visited Boston to visit our son and his family, it was Fall. We noticed the leaves fallen  around. We collected around 3,000 of them, which  included maple leaves, oak, beech and several others. We then packed them all in CD covers. When we came to India with all these leaves, my grandson asked me ‘Sirf patte laye’ ? And it so happened that he shred it into pieces. That made me thinking and inspired me to make patterns out of the shreds.”

What the Beris do is draw what they want to convey and and then fill them with dry leaves in a way which can be decribed as aesthetic to the core.

Easier said than done because it had taken a lot of effort and patience to come out with the final artwork.
Sometimes dry leaves are pasted as it is. And sometimes in pieces to form one piece. Says Kamlesh, “We have taken our albums to various schools in India. Our idea, to spread the message of the importance of Indian culture through a unique teaching pattern. What better way to embrace knowledge?”

Turn the pages of their works and one finds strong motif on themes like ‘Maa’, wherein  the role a mother plays in a child’s life is depicted. The leaves take  patterns of a mother-to-be, a mother feeding the baby, a mother teaching the child, sending the child to school, playing games, so on and so forth.

The Beris have held exhibitions at several schools in India and have interacted with children. “It was a huge success and we have received excellent feedback,” they say with much pride.

The Beris even at this age believe in being independent and has some advice for the retired people, that they should involve themselves in some work or the other.

And this comes from a man who has undergone two bypass surgeries.

Seasons may come and go but the Beris  conviction is deep-rooted, taking them through the country weaving new  patterns of life with the fallen leaves.