things that conjur memories

this weekend was spent, emptying cupboards and repacking,as we are having work done in the house,long forgotten items, came to light, which had us all talking and remembering the past.
the most important for me was a collection of vinyl, lp's.when we were three and two respectively, Ahmed and i made a trip to India, with mum. what i remember most, is this song, "hainna bolo bolo", a brother and sister and their mum and dad, that is what we were then, and this movie became my all time favourite, we sang along, to the song, it was a magical time. while unpacking i came across the movie soundtrack, in it's original cover,my grandmother had sent it over from India, and together with "puff the magic dragon", this is all we played on the stereo system,
"zindagi ek safar". is another song i remember, from my heady youth, when age was a single digit, and rajash khanna was my hero,i posted this song as well, just couldn't get it on here, so see the previous post.
one just cannot bin these memories, i have carefully packed away, the LP'S,and am definitely going to reconnect the turntable, my niece and nephew should have the pleasure of listening to these magical sounds, "hainna bolo bolo, mummy ko daddy se pyar he", magic.
then there was "puff the magic dragon" who lived by the sea,still in it's original cover, and well preserved, i can still remember the lyrics, two cultures, one English the other Indian, they melted into one then,and provided much laughter and fun, i wander, if these old movies are available to purchase, that, would be a treat.

packing up all these items, was not an enjoyable process, back breaking, exhausting work, then there was the cupboard full of photo albums, these are still more fun to page through then the digital photo's on my pc, perusing these tomes, held back work for a good few hours, black and white pictures of us as babies, arshad's baby pictures in colour, the world had changed when he arrived, colour photo's and tv, had arrived.the pictures though, brought back the happy times, we all agreed that azaad in his serious moments, is the image of his father at that age, when he smiles he has the look of his mother,the wanders of genetics.
Ahmed and i had a little red gadget, looked like a tv, you put the lp on top, and inserted the slide into the slot on the side, so the story of the three little pigs, moved in picture form, while the soundtrack played, what a great toy, we both still remember it, that was our version of tv, the toy was given away years ago, but never forgotten, know there is the cartoon network on satellite, just not the same .

then there was my mothers wedding dress, tucked behind some other stuff, so tiny it wouldn't go over my knees, in the pictures, she looks young and fragile, with movie star looks,didn't rub off on me, but the dress didn't get binned either, a 1960's leather suit,in black, still with us today. perhaps someone in the family, will one day enjoy a vintage wedding gown.

most of the things we fingered and touched, didn't make the bin, sentimentality i guess, really why do we hang on? for the memories, for the sights, sounds and smells that make us remember, the happy and sad times, my grandmothers blue dress, with it's hand embroidered gold zari work, she embroidered herself,my mum wore it to a function once, to great effect, i had occasion to don it, and it was a hit. a reminder of gran,a family heirloom, it will not reach the bin,like my nana baji's hat, he wore it daily, it is now the property of my maternal uncle, who has kept it all these years.

arshads red mittens, that he wore when it snowed, 22 years ago, the picture of his fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he stood in the snow, an ingrained memory, azaad might wear those mittens someday.

these are the things that new generations, must be taught to value, it tells the tale of our history, and brings those departed closer, a somber thought, yet it has so much potential, there is a history of life imprinted, in each of these items.