People love to talk about the old days — the good and bad experiences that they had. Is it worthwhile, to caress the past that may be unpleasant and unhappy? People may have diverse opinions. The more they age, the more they brood in the past. This is an individual call but, it’s best to forget and let go.
Just remember your early childhood when in the neighborhood there used to be an old lady, affectionately called “Amma”. She would sit on a handwoven jute cot (Khatia) with a hand fan in one hand and used to narrate stories – “Ek Tha Raja, Ek Thi Rani . . .” My mother would tell me stories from Fairy Tales and Chanda Mama, Bal Bharti and Nandan and so on.
Even after more than five decades, those narrations still resonate in my psyche as I remember most of them. There was honesty and meaningful morality, and each story carried a lesson. I am good at recapitulating and narrating these stories to my children.
I DO NOT want to forget those stories. These tales voice the person I am today and have a significant role in shaping my persona.
BUT,
Do I want to remember all the stories? What about the ones that ensued not in the books or Amma’s narration but around me? Stories that negatively affected my thought process and understanding of relationships.
Indeed, we do not want to remember these stories. THESE 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 story in your psyche, that can kill you. Someone has rightly quoted: ‘We all have an untold story inside us. Every face, every expression, and every wrinkle have a deep storyline.’
Never judge a person as we know him upfront because the truth is we probably don’t. Each scar or emotional blemish exemplifies an untold story of survival. The story can be about the pain and sadness of loving and living a little differently from others.
The human mind has a strange power; mostly, it remembers only the good stories and conveniently erases the bad memories and untoward incidents. I met a bunch of friends at an alumnus meeting after forty years of college. Everyone remembered and recollected the exciting and pleasant details of the hostel and college campus. No one talked of the ragging atrocities, the pathetic hostel mismanagement, the college teasing, staff mocking, etc. “Oh! Those were my golden days – life was so beautiful.” – but did anyone experience this exhilaration while surviving those times? NO! No one did, and I remember everyone cursing the amenities and arrangements.
We forget old stories, but do those stories change? No – they remain the same despite changes and 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 in our lives.
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 changed and modulated according to the audience’s moods and emotional dispositions. As a kid, I was made to stand during a weekly assembly or a free period and narrate stories to my doting listeners. I was kind of famous. I had the art to fabricate stories like the ‘Masala Mix’ stealing incidents from books, movies, and events. All Fiction — how easy it was!
Non-fiction, however, is hard to face and difficult to digest. We know that there is some honesty and truth in the tale. Non-fiction is like staring into a mirror that reveals the genuine features and wrinkles of an individual’s persona. I cried a thousand tears while watching the atrocities and brutal genocide in the movie — “The Kashmir Files.”
I must admit that Shakespeare was a genius as 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 all have stories gyrating in our minds – some fiction, some non-fiction. We let these stories die inside our heads without revealing them to the world. Why? Are we scared of criticism, or are we unsure about the consequences? Fiction is still okay, but we refrain from sharing non-fiction.
GOSSIP is a type of storytelling—isn’t it?
We love to gossip, but there is a difference between a ‘Masaaladar’ gossip and the narration of a truthful incident. The gossiper is a hardcore character with FOUR Ps in mind.
People – Selection of a person or group where the gossip will be entertained.
Place – Finding a proper place for spilling out the details—maybe 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 keep repeating the same small and mundane story over and over. If you do not break the shackles, you will survive the same sad and meager life.’
RELEASE THE OLD AND EMBRACE THE NEW.
The length and width of a story don’t matter at all. It is the zest and the content that matters.
I would like to share a few short stories that carry all that 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.
………………………………………………
One word story – Sorry
Two word story – Miss You
I miss you too …. four word story
regards
What a depiction
Nine word story I love to read your blogs again and again
wow… i like the nine word story. 🙂
Very nice and subjective
thanks a lot
I am moved
thank you sir
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….
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.
Spellbound am I. Superb analysis..!
thanks a lot dear for the appreciation.