'You and me and we' – are equally responsible for creating these ‘shared versions of the past!'

Little Isles of Memories | Ruminations

On 22nd August

in the years - 1994, 1997 & 1998!

Sailing along with Halbwachs’s Collective Memory & Individual Memory

Collective memory is simply put - the organic memory of the individual; or in other words, shared versions of the past, which results through interaction, communication, media, and institutions within small social groups as well as large cultural communities, says Maurice Halbwachs!

How beautiful ain’t it?

Goes on to prove that, you and me and we – are equally responsible for creating these ‘shared versions of the past’ that go by the Halbwachian term – Collective Memory!

Every act of remembering the past, as part of ‘individual memory’ is always because of these lovely ‘social frameworks’, says Halbwachs!

What pray, then are these ‘social frameworks’?

‘Social frameworks’ are, for Halbwachs, first of all simply the people around us.

Humans are social creatures: Without other humans, an individual is denied access not only to such obviously collective phenomena as language and customs, but also, according to Halbwachs, to his or her own memory.

This is partly because we generally experience things in the company of other people, who can also later help us to remember the events.

Let me kindly take the privilege of repeating yet again the last part of this past paragraph please –

We generally experience things in the company of other people, who can also later help us to remember the events.

How lovely, ain’t it?

Social frameworks, thus, form the all-encompassing horizon in which our perception and memory is embedded.

Hence Halbwachs would probably have said Kaspar Hauser (a young man in nineteenth-century Germany who allegedly grew up without any human contact) had no collective memory, while the lonely Robinson Crusoe most certainly did, since in his thoughts he could fall back on the social frameworks of his homeland, the English middle-class ways of thinking he had learned in his youth.

He signs off on this count, by stating the obvious – that - It is only through individual acts of memory that the collective memory can be observed!

Now for these individual acts of memory from pages of ages past!

22nd August 1997 | NCC Parade

Well, I personally feel that, the two delightful chances for a college student to get oneself drilled into punctuality and discipline would be –

NCC – National Cadet Corps

& Hostel Life in Campus

22 August 1997

Punishment drills for those who ‘escaped’ the Independence Day Parade were on full swing today!

22nd August 1998 | One year’s wait! 

Back then, booking a landline telephone connection, was a herculean task! So it was, that I went to the Telephone Office, paid Rs.200/- and gave the receipt to the Telecom Manager. 

22 August 1998

When, all curious, I enquired as to when we would be getting the connection, he said, it might take a year!

Another friend of ours, Mr. David said that, he had been waiting for more than a year for his telephone connection now, but frustrated, he said he didn’t need it now, so he was planning to surrender it!

Today, when the landline connection has become an anachronistic term, quite unbeknownst to Gen Z, and you get your connection within an hour’s time of applying – well, we’ve come a long long way, bro!

22nd August 1994 | School Day Antaksharis

Since chilly weather persisted today, we didn’t have PT this morning as well!

Woke up at 5.30 am, and we were asked to be ready for our morning prayer and assembly at 6.30 am.

I went for my elixir of life – coffee - first thing in the morning!

22nd August 1994 - Page 1

Then after reading the day’s newspaper, went to class, placed our books on our respective tables, and came back in time for the General Assembly.

22 August 1994 - Page 2

Well, the General Assembly is a regular feature on Mondays, where the HM gives us instructions and important announcements as well.

During our Chemistry Practicals, Master taught us on the preparation of salts and tabulation. Since we had a free period, I took a kutty little nap in class today.

Our Zoology Master in particular, usually gives us valuable advice, for which we regarded him very highly.

22 August 1994 - page 3

On this particular day, he highlighted the importance of text books in our class.

Text books have the capability to beget creative, critical thinking in you; whereas guides sound the death-knell to your creativity quotient that’s latent within you,

he used to tell us very often!

Today, he had this to say - [and I quote from my diary]

If anybody has an abundance of money, let him give it to me rather than wasting them on buying guides.

Money is precious. I know how much your parents suffer for this money. Some even force themselves into extra work for money.

Some boys go to shop or market and buy a dozen guides.

Many guide-writers come to me asking me to recommend their guide.

But I refuse them.

I want all of you to become a guide for yourself.

But if there are reference books, I’d gladly appreciate.

We are given salary only to teach and not to cheat.

Else, you can join some tutorial colleges for 3 – 4 hours a day, which are advertised on the trains.

Physics Master met us in the next hour, and started the third lesson.

He said,

Only when two people are concentrating, the teaching will flow smoothly, as in the case of the battery & wire, he said.

22 August 1994 - page 4

He also added on an ironic vein,

People bring the exact change of Rs. 10.25 paise for their Cinema show, while they pull out a 100 Rupee note for a 70 paise ticket in the PTC buses.

He compared himself and other teachers like him to bullocks, symbolically connoting to mean that, a teacher has the sweet burden and responsibility of carrying along all their students with them!

And then he spoke on inertia as an inability to do work!

Coming back,

Evenings were for antakshari, when we all sat in a sweet circle in the garden, and sang aloud to our heart’s content!

Night, played three games of chess with Girish – lost 1, won – 2!

Requoting the legendary Halbwachs yet again,

Social frameworks are first of all simply the people around us.

Humans are social creatures: Without other humans, an individual is denied access not only to such obviously collective phenomena as language and customs, but also, according to Halbwachs, to his or her own memory.

This is partly because we generally experience things in the company of other people, who can also later help us to remember the events.

Let’s together conclude this blog post by saying a ‘woww’ and a ‘lovely’ to Halbwachs and his take on Collective Memory!

Well, on the brighter side, felt so delighted and happy to know today, that two of our students from the II MA English class have been ardent votaries of diaries since long!

Sruthi says she’s been a diarist from Standard 5 onwards, and Archana says she was gifted a diary by her brother, which she relishes so much and jots down every little incident that she values a lot day by day!

More power to you, dear dynamic students of ours!

with inputs from Astrid Erll’s Memory in Culture