Morphed Memories...

Just time for a quick post. I've been away from the computer / internet for a week (yes, it's possible) and had a couple of thoughts swirling all week which I want to quickly post before reading "And Another Thing" prior to drifting off to sleep...


I went to Lucknow for a couple of cousins' weddings and then to a sleepy town in UP which is my mom's hometown - a single road town called Bharthana. I used to go there almost every second summer vacation till I was in class 9 - 14 years ago (yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not as youthful as my writing may have made you believe...now where'd I keep my arthritis pills??)

I had gone anticipating a bit of boredom but I actually enjoyed a lot. Apart from the weddings themselves, it was also great to see the spots of the summer vacation adventures when the days were clear and the thoughts were mostly happy. I had a great time reliving memories of the inside-house cricket, the Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruv comics, the carrom tournaments, the rambling through the huge attic searching for nothing in particular, the two vultures that came and roosted in the nearby Dharamshala which almost made the place out of bounds for us scrawny kids, the evening kite flying (didn't do a lot myself), the neighbour's parrot, the chaats etc etc.

(as an aside, I seem to have a great appetite for rushing back memories)

But there was one very interesting thing about these memories - when these memories were made I was quite small myself. Thus, I had increased the size of most things in the memories as I grew. Seeing the real things was a bit of a reality check. Now, my uncle's clinic is quite big but it is nowhere near the cavernous waiting hall with the doctor's chair inside it that I recalled. Also the hall in which we used to play cricket is pretty big but nowhere near as big as I remembered.

Interesting, the way time morphs the reality in memories.

It's also funny that a lot of people actually remember you even after 14 years. Phenomenal really. And embarrassing because in your rush you've forgotten everyone who still recalls your childish antics. Nostalgic times.



Also, unrelated: I'm so thankful for having friends who whack me on my head when I'm doing something innately stupid. And I'm so thankful that I have friends who I can tell the most reprehensible things without being judged. They save me, they really do...


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