Just a couple of days ago, Manasi was planning to have some of her friends over, and she needed my help to figure out a plan for the Xbox - how to play so that everyone gets a turn - the talk inevitably turned to good sharing practices. But that's not what I wanted to write about - soon after my little chat with Manasi, I found myself humming an old Marathi song - I only remembered a few of the words, but could not get the tune out of my head! It was starting to annoy me - I didn't even particularly like the song - but then, it came to me in a blinding flash, a particularly crystal clear memory - here, just for fun, watch the song here - before I take about my memory!!
Mind you, this is from ages ago - I must have been 8 or 9 - and yet, I can see it like it was yesterday. My grandmother's house in Sangli, summer vacation, the whole house drowsy, settling in for a nap, the sunlight dappling the walls of the room on the upper level - there was a hook in the ceiling of the room (hmm, I don't exactly remember why), and a rope swing was suspended from this swing, the seat a couple of blankets folded together. My cousins and I took turns on the swing - the rule was to sing a song out loud, and then when the song was done, it was the next person's turn - very simple, very effective! See, it was that talk of sharing that triggered this...
And there I see her, my cousin, Vaishali, singing away -"He rashtra devatanche..." - it was always her favorite, and it always seemed to be the longest song that any of us knew - but rules were rules, and she could swing as long as she was singing! Seriously, I can almost reach out and touch her - long braids flying out behind her, eyes closed in concentration, and the hypnotic swing! What an incredible memory from an incredible time in my life - simple, carefree childhood, when the biggest worry was to come up with a song that would last a long time!! All the more precious today when all of us cousins have drifted apart, busy with our individual lives...
This literal blast from the past left me thinking - it's strange how for most events in life, we have a general memory, a remembered emotion, the details vague and blurry - how many incidents are actually sharply delineated, permanently etched? My oldest clear memory is actually a non-memory - when I was 18 months old, my parents took me to Kashmir -yes, there is actual photographic evidence. I have been hearing this story my entire life - we flew from Mumbai to Srinagar, and since I was a baby, I didn't have a booked seat. Yes, this was a time when people could just walk up to a plane with an unticketed baby, and even more surprisingly, the pilot walked out and said it was ok, as long as an adult held the baby on their lap. Try doing that now!!
The high point of the story - the pilot was Rajiv Gandhi, who actually went on to become the Prime Minister of India!! Regrettably, I do not remember that plane ride - my first ever actually. I do not remember playing in the snow with my mother - that's the photo I have. I do not remember getting the mumps while on that vacation. And I most certainly do not remember Rajiv Gandhi graciously letting me get on his plane!! And that actually makes me wonder how much Manasi is going to remember all the places we've been to!!
A moment I actually remember very clearly - when my mother was expecting my sister, she had me touch her stomach and there it is, the baby kicking, I still remember the almost electric thrill of the moment. Surprisingly, I don't remember too much of my sister when she was a baby - sibling rivalry blocking it out maybe? When she was older - cute as a button - again, these flashes. She was, what, 2 maybe - and she was leaning against a folding armchair propped against the wall, and it fell on her. Blood everywhere, and again, the weird details - I remember exactly the dress she was wearing, the moss green and cream stripes, the velvety texture, and her howls as the blood turned the green to a muddy brown!! I have no idea why I thought of that just now...
That song is still stuck in my head - but far from being annoying, it's like an old friend come to visit. I just had to share this - and now I can get back to write about my Philippines vacation in peace. I love that this blog will be a repository of memories for my daughter!! I love that I can pass on a piece of my past to her and never have her forget!! I love that my random memories have a place to call home!!
Mind you, this is from ages ago - I must have been 8 or 9 - and yet, I can see it like it was yesterday. My grandmother's house in Sangli, summer vacation, the whole house drowsy, settling in for a nap, the sunlight dappling the walls of the room on the upper level - there was a hook in the ceiling of the room (hmm, I don't exactly remember why), and a rope swing was suspended from this swing, the seat a couple of blankets folded together. My cousins and I took turns on the swing - the rule was to sing a song out loud, and then when the song was done, it was the next person's turn - very simple, very effective! See, it was that talk of sharing that triggered this...
And there I see her, my cousin, Vaishali, singing away -"He rashtra devatanche..." - it was always her favorite, and it always seemed to be the longest song that any of us knew - but rules were rules, and she could swing as long as she was singing! Seriously, I can almost reach out and touch her - long braids flying out behind her, eyes closed in concentration, and the hypnotic swing! What an incredible memory from an incredible time in my life - simple, carefree childhood, when the biggest worry was to come up with a song that would last a long time!! All the more precious today when all of us cousins have drifted apart, busy with our individual lives...
This literal blast from the past left me thinking - it's strange how for most events in life, we have a general memory, a remembered emotion, the details vague and blurry - how many incidents are actually sharply delineated, permanently etched? My oldest clear memory is actually a non-memory - when I was 18 months old, my parents took me to Kashmir -yes, there is actual photographic evidence. I have been hearing this story my entire life - we flew from Mumbai to Srinagar, and since I was a baby, I didn't have a booked seat. Yes, this was a time when people could just walk up to a plane with an unticketed baby, and even more surprisingly, the pilot walked out and said it was ok, as long as an adult held the baby on their lap. Try doing that now!!
The high point of the story - the pilot was Rajiv Gandhi, who actually went on to become the Prime Minister of India!! Regrettably, I do not remember that plane ride - my first ever actually. I do not remember playing in the snow with my mother - that's the photo I have. I do not remember getting the mumps while on that vacation. And I most certainly do not remember Rajiv Gandhi graciously letting me get on his plane!! And that actually makes me wonder how much Manasi is going to remember all the places we've been to!!
A moment I actually remember very clearly - when my mother was expecting my sister, she had me touch her stomach and there it is, the baby kicking, I still remember the almost electric thrill of the moment. Surprisingly, I don't remember too much of my sister when she was a baby - sibling rivalry blocking it out maybe? When she was older - cute as a button - again, these flashes. She was, what, 2 maybe - and she was leaning against a folding armchair propped against the wall, and it fell on her. Blood everywhere, and again, the weird details - I remember exactly the dress she was wearing, the moss green and cream stripes, the velvety texture, and her howls as the blood turned the green to a muddy brown!! I have no idea why I thought of that just now...
That song is still stuck in my head - but far from being annoying, it's like an old friend come to visit. I just had to share this - and now I can get back to write about my Philippines vacation in peace. I love that this blog will be a repository of memories for my daughter!! I love that I can pass on a piece of my past to her and never have her forget!! I love that my random memories have a place to call home!!
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