Smell
I have noticed that of the various triggers , it is smell which triggers most of my nostalgic remembrances ... and the weird part if that it is not 'reproducible testcase' :-)
It just happens sometimes that I will smell something totally unrelated and voila , I will suddenly get transported to a different time : I will feel emotions from then , relive times gone by ... a different era , a different life.
Like day before when I walked out of the office just after a rain , the scent of wet earth triggered memories childhood of our old unpartioned ancestral home - the one I used to visit every summer vacation (which last approx 2 months). The whole school year was just something you pass so that you can enjoy the summer holidays ! Everyone would be there : cousins , aunts , uncles , revisiting relatives - a festive atmosphere always hung around that house.
When I was in class 1 (5 yrs old) and younger , we used to take the train to Trivandrum from Calicut. Those train journeys are something I will forever cherish.
The timings were just perfect , it would start early enough so that there is sufficient light outside and just late enough that I will fall asleep once it got dark : inspite of my overexcited state.
Each station on the way had to be recounted to me - about a hundred times :-D I still have no idea how dad knew all of them - in the right order !
Each and everything would provoke questions which he would patiently explain : sky , stars , mechanics of the train , the emergency chain , etc , etc.
Dad used to be in DP (the nascent computer division of LIC) during those days , so train journeys used to give 'unparalleled access' to him ... In retrospect , some of his devilish answers would have made Calvin's dad proud :-))
In the wee hours of the next day , we would draw closer to Trivandrum - seeing the model rocket near Thumba would be the dead giveaway that we are near our destination - the excitement of imminent arrival will drive up the frenzy pushing mom to angry outbursts >:-)
Even the auto journey would be memorable - the early morning air whipping on my face as the auto zips along empty roads to kowdiar : destination - my grandparents home , close to the King's palace.
The vacations would be a blur of games , scoldings , ICE CREAMS ! , fights , food , whirlwind visits to relatives , more fights and yet more scoldings :-)
The most 'dull' days for us used to be when it rains and rain it did !!
We call it 'thulla varsham' - rain used to start around 4-ish and last till 6 or later. The kids would get confined to the house - even making paper boats lose their charm after 2 hours of continuous pittar-patter. Ofcourse, we do end up doing the same the very next day again ... this is how all the notebooks used to end up as - the ones we carried with us for doing 'holiday homework' :-P
The first spray brings out that scent - the heavenly scent of rain on earth.
Now , it transports me to a more carefree life , where only worries in life was how to get away from the latest 'biggest disaster' - back then , it was the harbinger of temporary imprisonment , something I hated ... strange are the ways of life !
Why did I decide to write about nostalgia ? Mother hen is back , was chatting with her and her hubby until wee hours of 1 am :-)
It just happens sometimes that I will smell something totally unrelated and voila , I will suddenly get transported to a different time : I will feel emotions from then , relive times gone by ... a different era , a different life.
Like day before when I walked out of the office just after a rain , the scent of wet earth triggered memories childhood of our old unpartioned ancestral home - the one I used to visit every summer vacation (which last approx 2 months). The whole school year was just something you pass so that you can enjoy the summer holidays ! Everyone would be there : cousins , aunts , uncles , revisiting relatives - a festive atmosphere always hung around that house.
When I was in class 1 (5 yrs old) and younger , we used to take the train to Trivandrum from Calicut. Those train journeys are something I will forever cherish.
The timings were just perfect , it would start early enough so that there is sufficient light outside and just late enough that I will fall asleep once it got dark : inspite of my overexcited state.
Each station on the way had to be recounted to me - about a hundred times :-D I still have no idea how dad knew all of them - in the right order !
Each and everything would provoke questions which he would patiently explain : sky , stars , mechanics of the train , the emergency chain , etc , etc.
Dad used to be in DP (the nascent computer division of LIC) during those days , so train journeys used to give 'unparalleled access' to him ... In retrospect , some of his devilish answers would have made Calvin's dad proud :-))
In the wee hours of the next day , we would draw closer to Trivandrum - seeing the model rocket near Thumba would be the dead giveaway that we are near our destination - the excitement of imminent arrival will drive up the frenzy pushing mom to angry outbursts >:-)
Even the auto journey would be memorable - the early morning air whipping on my face as the auto zips along empty roads to kowdiar : destination - my grandparents home , close to the King's palace.
The vacations would be a blur of games , scoldings , ICE CREAMS ! , fights , food , whirlwind visits to relatives , more fights and yet more scoldings :-)
The most 'dull' days for us used to be when it rains and rain it did !!
We call it 'thulla varsham' - rain used to start around 4-ish and last till 6 or later. The kids would get confined to the house - even making paper boats lose their charm after 2 hours of continuous pittar-patter. Ofcourse, we do end up doing the same the very next day again ... this is how all the notebooks used to end up as - the ones we carried with us for doing 'holiday homework' :-P
The first spray brings out that scent - the heavenly scent of rain on earth.
Now , it transports me to a more carefree life , where only worries in life was how to get away from the latest 'biggest disaster' - back then , it was the harbinger of temporary imprisonment , something I hated ... strange are the ways of life !
Why did I decide to write about nostalgia ? Mother hen is back , was chatting with her and her hubby until wee hours of 1 am :-)
posted by Mridul at 1:06 AM
4 comments
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4 Comments:
Nostalgia... These "triggers" as you put them have a habit of hiding in otherwise innocent looking places. They pounce out if you look at them and throw you back into a different time from which it's difficult to get out of.
But it's a nice feeling. :)
Indeed it is ! Thanks for the nice words :-)
Please drop a name (even is fictitious) so that I can atleast put a name on the person who commented : anonymous is too 'anonymous' if you get what I mean :-P
Zapf Brannigan
You mean 'Zapp Brannigan' ?
I dont watch futurama , so dont have the 'context' to understand the comment above :-)
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