Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Why chronicle?

Here is a part of a comment for the previous post by LAK.

Loved the post. Tell you what, do save this in hard copy as well, for her to read when she grows up---you won't be able to repeat these words then---in fact you'll love to read it then too. When my kids were small, I wrote about their antics to my mom, sis and friends. Now I've got back those letters from my mom and the kids and I love going thru those handwritten snippets of emotion.


My parents stayed in Germany for a year when I was about two years old. Communication, not being what it is now (to put it mildly), there was hardly any interaction between the family back home and my parents. But everybody wanted to know the latest antics of the only grandchild of the family (me), and so my mom wrote long letters back home on thin onion paper. She wrote about me, what I do, things I liked, things I said... and when she came back, she collected the letters from them, and kept them with her. She showed them to me when I was a teenager, and I had the greatest time reading them.

These letters contain those moments, those stories, which are run-of-the-mill, ordinary, but these mirror the real two year old me. These little things, which would otherwise have been forgotten, since they aren't too dramatic, were handed back to me to relish.

There are stories in every family about every child - stories that circulate wildly, are retold at every gathering. Stories like the time Peevee was missing for hours and was then found in my parents' room, playing with talcum powder that she had spilled all over the bed and floor. Like the story about my then two year old cousin K1 who came out of the room carrying his new born brother K2 like a kitten, and mouthing, "Nange paapa ishTa." (I like baby).

These stories, being dramatic, are remembered, but what about those other moments - a child's first witticism, a cute habit he had - what about those? Most of them fade out of memory.

Unless of course, a treasure happens to come by in the form of my mother's, or LAK's letters - which is one of the main reasons I keep an account of Puttachi's antics.

There is no guarantee that Puttachi will grow up and enjoy what I have written about her. But I believe she will. She will probably marvel at the number of unknown people who followed her life. But again, she might not like it either, which, if she takes after me, is improbable.

Anyway, if it so happens that she couldn't care less for these records, I will anyway most definitely enjoy it. I will probably look back at it, and laugh perhaps, of how naive a mother I was, or how different Puttachi was back then.

Either way, blog I will.

10 comments:

anoop said...

Even I had thought of asking you this question - 'why chronicle?', but I was sure that you had thought of all these and more, so i kept quiet.

Dhanya said...

Yeh even we are enjoying the narratives as much as you do.. Keep blogging.. :)

rajk said...

You know, every time I read your posts about Puttachi, I imagine her reading them some years later...See? We think alike...Great Minds ;-)

praneshachar said...

oh!! it really nice to read about u reading the letters about u written by your mom it must be a great feeling and puttachi will definetely will have a chance to read it in a print form or in the web and certainly the way u Both S&S are bringing up shows she will have interest in all aspects of life music art drama cinema literature I hope it will happen and Puttachi will read and enjoy and u may read about her deeds as ur mom is reading now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pranesh

Anonymous said...

Why chronicle? I think we owe it to our posterity.

I am sure your daughter will love what has been chronicled about her at some point in her life. Maybe she will not like when she is of teenage or young adult age becuase she has not lost much by that time in her life.

But as she gets older and when a sense of losing her childhood days gradually creeps in I am sure she will cherish all these wonderful stories about her that are being chronicled now.

Believe me, I went through that myself. My dad was very particular about preserving our childhood days and he did everything he could, pictures,stories,growth chart on the wall etc. etc.

When I was young I did I not care about all those things but now that I am a bit older, and wiser as well,if go back home and look at my growth chart and all the dates on that I can't hold my tears back. I just say "Thank you Appaji(dad)"

We are doing the same for our son. Making him a time capsule with his first dress,first shoes,first ring and recording when he got his first teeth etc. etc.

Good post.

Vish.
NY

Anonymous said...

Good one, as usual :)

I believe everyone should do this. Be it about themselves or about their children. It surely reinforces the love the parents have for their kids...something that kids today need badly. I do not mean that Puttachi will not acknowledge your love after she grows up, but I think reinforcement is a necessity these days.

Anonymous said...

my mom has never written no letters to my Gmom! I'm sad...

Anonymous said...

Your posts about Puttachi are worth being published as a book! Hey, in fact why don't you do that? If you don't want all these posts to be posted, then at least the selected ones!!!

Puttachi indeed has a great biographer and that too for free! :)

Srikanth said...

I think it is as much important for the writer. the first few years of a kid are the most challenging & fulfilling for a parent. writing them down makes you feel content and rich & makes you look for those small joys of life with a young one.

- father of two :-)

Veena Shivanna said...

I agree,
Puttachi indeed has a great biographer
I have tried to do this to some extent but not in so much detail...! The baby books (records) tries to catch up quite a good info!

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