Culture

ARE OLD STORIES BEST FORGOTTEN – OR REMINISCED? 

 To forget old stories depends on their impact on our lives. Stories tied to pain or negative emotions may hold us back. It is better to let them go, heal ourselves, and grow.

Some old stories carry valuable lessons, provide a sense of identity, and shape our wisdom. Remembering them allows us to reflect on our journey and better understand ourselves. This process of introspection and self-awareness is not just valuable; it empowers and enlightens us about our potential.

It’s crucial to strike a balance between our past experiences that no longer serve us and refraining from holding onto memories that tarnish our present. This balance is critical and a guiding principle for our personal growth and healing, reassuring us that we’re on the right path and instilling confidence in our journey.

 

I remember an old lady from my neighbourhood, affectionately called ‘Amma ‘. She would sit on a handwoven jute cot, holding a fan in her hand, and narrating stories like ‘Ek Tha Raja, Ek Thi Rani ‘. Similarly, my mother told me stories from Fairy Tales, Chanda Mama, Bal Bharti, Nandan, etc. These stories were not just tales but the building blocks of my childhood.

Even after five decades, those narrations still resonate in my psyche. Each story had a strong message, was honest, and was meaningfully moral. These childhood tales shaped my present.  I was good at recapitulating and narrating these stories to my children.

BUT,

Do we want to reminisce about all the stories? What about the ones that occurred not in the books or narrations but around us? Some stories negatively affected our thoughts and understanding. Such stories are best forgotten.

Good stories are a reason to live and believe in love, associations, friendships, and humanity. But there can’t be a more severe agony than bearing an untold nasty story in the psyche. Someone has rightly quoted:  We all have an untold story inside us. Every face, every expression, and every wrinkle has a deep storyline.

Never judge a person upfront because we probably don’t know him. Each scar or emotional blemish exemplifies an untold story of survival. The story can be about the pain and sadness of loving and living differently from others.

The human mind has a strange power. It mostly remembers good stories and conveniently erases evil memories and incidents. After forty years of college, I met many friends at an alumni meeting. Everyone remembered and recollected the exciting and pleasant college and hostel details, and no one talked of the ragging atrocities, the pathetic hostel management, the teasing and staff mocking, etc.

“Oh! Those were the golden days – life was so beautiful.” – but did anyone experience this exhilaration while surviving those times?  Everyone cursed and detested the amenities and college arrangements at that time.

We forget old stories, but these stories don’t change; they remain the same despite situational variations.

Isn’t life a story? We are narrators and active listeners. The story may suck, but still, we lend our emotions and logic to the fiction and non-fiction around us. We have developed the art of telling stories about what we want.

Fiction is safe and enjoyable because the mind is at rest and doesn’t have to apply logic. Who cares if ‘Raja’ died in the end or if ‘Rani’ was abducted, raped, or killed? Fiction is concocted and suited to the listener’s psyche and requirements. Fiction can be modified according to the audience’s moods and emotional dispositions. As a kid, I loved fabricating and concocting stories from books and films and narrating them to an enthusiastic audience.

It is complicated to face and challenging to digest Nonfiction as we understand its authenticity and truth. It is like staring into a mirror, revealing the individual’s genuine features and wrinkles. The atrocities and brutal genocide in the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ touched us as we faced the blatant truth.

We must admit that Shakespeare was a genius. He did a great job of taking 5000-year-old stories and turning them into modern pieces of art and theatre. The beauty is that these stories have sustained the original essence but are transformed entirely and re-created.

We have several fiction and nonfiction stories in our minds, but we let them die without revealing them to the world. Are we scared of criticism or unsure about the consequences? Fiction is still okay, but sharing nonfiction refrains.

 

GOSSIP is a type of storytelling.

We love to gossip, but there is a difference between spicy gossip and the truthful incident narrative. The gossiper is a hardcore character with the ‘Four Ps’ in mind.

People – Selection of a person or group where the gossip will be entertained.

Place – Find a place to spill out the details, maybe at kitty parties or small clubs.

Plot – The fabrication of gossip and fortification about the incident that made it famous.

Purpose – A reason to defame someone and entertain others at the cost of someone’s dignity and reputation.

There is an interesting philosophy behind the gossip. We make the old gossip new when we succeed in proving our point. We also get trapped in gossip if we fail to make an impact.

A word of caution – ‘Don’t repeat the same small and mundane story repeatedly. If you do not break the shackles, you will survive the same sad and meagre life.’

‘Release the old and embrace the new.’

The length and width of a story don’t matter at all. What matters is the zest and the content.

Some short stories carry all the meaning . . .

*Three-word story – ‘I love You.’

*Four-word story –’ From lovers to strangers.’

*Five-word story – ‘I love a distant star.’

*Six-word story – ‘I wish it had been us.’

*Seven-word story – ‘I wanted to say I miss you.’

*Eight-word story – ‘The more you care, the more it hurts.’

 

“Behold a story that makes your existence a delectable story – Forget the story that hampers the release of your soul.”

 

“Release old concepts and energies that keep you in self-punishment patterns. Release old stories and create from a place of love and self-validation. YOU ARE WORTH IT.” GAUTAM BUDDHA.

 

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12 Comments

  1. Sanjay Goyal says:

    One word story – Sorry
    Two word story – Miss You

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      I miss you too …. four word story
      regards

  2. A K Vimal says:

    What a depiction
    Nine word story I love to read your blogs again and again

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      wow… i like the nine word story. 🙂

  3. Archana Anuj says:

    Very nice and subjective

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      thanks a lot

  4. I am moved

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      thank you sir

  5. Dr Ashok Kumar Ojha says:

    The blog “Are old stories best forgotten or remniscised” certainly is an interesting issue..since long time, the tradition of narrating stories to young ones, particularly, to toddlers by Grand Ma or Moms goes on and on.. Children before going to bed tend to pull their Grand mothers to listen stories before they fall asleep.We have also listened such stories in our childhood and undoubtedly have passed on to our children..Now the crux of the issues is that all stories are good one or say inspiring or not….At times, concocted stories which has no inspirational value are narrated.Such stories are full of thrill and concoction but are liked by children or even by adults also…As it has an element of masala, such stories are in demand compared to conventional stereotype stories.It is now the duty of elders to guide and motivate children to listen inspiring stories that’s some significance and inspiration.
    People tend to listen to gossips and criticism more interestingly than to normal information..
    और अगर कोई नमक मिर्च लगा कर सुनाए तो सोने में सुहागा।Such precedence should be avoided.. Nowadays, the burning issue is of political issues.. Political issues, at times, may creep in an iota of rift or dissidence to such an extent particularly in chats that बोलचाल बंद हो जाती है। It is better facts are stated and nothing more..At the same time, we should try to be a bit liberal and resilient so that acrimonious situation and dissidence may be kept at bay….

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      Your writing skills amaze me. It is a treat to read your analysis and views. You are too good with your thoughts. You rightly said that politics ruins everything wherever, it finds a seat.
      Well i still miss the stories that my mother used to read to me.

  6. Asha kumar rastogi says:

    Spellbound am I. Superb analysis..!

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      thanks a lot dear for the appreciation.

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