This is the fourth part of a novella “The Confession”.
Read the rest of the novella here –
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Ram helped David settle down in his bedroom, gave him some money and the phone numbers of the closest Dominos outlet, Nandini restaurant and a few other dining options who delivered food home, and then left for office. After all, he had articles to write and deadlines to meet.
David walked up to the bookshelf and picked up one of his all time favorite books and settled down on the recliner in his room when something poked him in the butt. When he put his hand to check what it was, he pulled out his favorite blue iPod Nano from there. Looking at it he smiled as this was one gadget he clearly remembered and loved a lot as well.
Just like books, David’s love for music went back a long way as well. His mother, Nancy was an extremely good singer and also played western classical piano as well. She was a regular part of the choir at her church and even otherwise was found constantly humming her favorite tunes as well. Her taste in music ranged from gospel music to the latest chartbuster which the teenybopper kids of the day enjoyed. David’s love for music therefore was quite genetic in nature given that he had been exposed to quite a fair amount of music even when he was still in his mother’s womb.
The fact that he grew up in what many consider the golden decade of R&B music meant that he was exposed to a lot of variety of music growing up in 80s India. His tastes were quite eclectic and varied from Madonna and Michael Jackson in pop to Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin in hard rock, from Kenny Rogers in country music to Kenny G in classical instrumental music.
Further, his cosmopolitan upbringing in Bangalore and all the Tam Brahm friends he had meant that he also enjoyed his fair share of Carnatic classical music as well. While he didn’t quite understand the nuances of the craft of Carnatic or Hindustani classical music, he had enough of an ear and sense for music that he was able to appreciate the beauty of the rhythms of the same.
He switched on the iPod and saw that all his favorite tracks were on it. He swiped the Click Wheel and saw that it was as smooth as he could always remember it being. And when he hit on the Hold Switch, the feeble click that he heard was ‘music’ to his ears. He navigated to an ‘all weather favorite’ album of his, Michael Jackson’s Bad and started listening to the tracks in the order in which they appeared. Looking at the Album Art of this particular album, his mind was taken back to his teenage years, when he used to enjoy these songs on a music cassette with his then favorite Sony Walkman.
The sad part was that while he could remember something from 15+ yrs ago when he was a teenager, he couldn’t quite remember the last few years of his life. The irony of the situation was not lost on him as he looked at Michael Jackson in the iPod and smiled melancholically at him. The funny part was that he could clearly remember that the King of Pop died sometime in 2009 and that was only 4 yrs ago. But as hard as he tried, he couldn’t quite remember how he met Ram or became friends with him at all.
It was quite frustrating, trying to live a life not knowing what exactly you were expected to be doing with it. All these thoughts and emotions flooding to him all at once resulted in him getting a headache. He therefore decided to take a small nap.
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This post has been written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words 2 where today’s prompt had to be about music.
This is the fourth post in a novella “The Confession” that I am writing trying to correlate the same to the Write Tribe Festival of Words 2.
Read the rest of the novella here
Very well done Jairam. Liked the way you have made the iPod work towards his memory retention.
@Paddy, I have the same iPod as in the picture, and am sure it will help me rejig my memories, if ever I lost them 😉 glad you liked the post though 😀
I can understand how frustrating it must be for David not to remember . Micheal Jacksons ‘Bad’and ‘remember the time’ made me nostalgic.What happens after the nap , is to be seen in the next chapter?
@Kalpana, absolutely, wait for the next chapter 😀
I love how you have connected the stories for each of the themes. Waiting for the next part. 🙂
@mysoul, enjoy the rest of the series 😀
Goddd… putting myself in his shoes, it is so scary to even think of not remembering people and instances!! Like the previous posts, this one too – very very nice!!!! 🙂
@Shalini, if I have managed to transport you into David’s shoes, then a large part of my job as a storyteller has been done, enjoy the rest of the series as well 🙂
Poor David. It might be quite scary to be in his position…
@Sheethal, it sure sounds and feels scary to lose your memories, doesn’t it?
I have to read the earlier ones too, to get the hang of it. 🙂
@Praveen, please do, am sure you will like the series 🙂
Hmm so his memory is closer now. He remembers till 4 years back, so lets see what happens next
@Bhagyashree, am loving how involved you are with this series, enjoy the rest of it as well 🙂
Jairam, you are an expert story writer. Very aptly connected with the prompt.
@Mrs Menon, thank you so much for your kind words 🙂
I guess, David should take it easy, it will all come back to him, soon. I guess, a nap should do the trick 😀
@Shilpa, it will take a lot more than just a nap, the story goes on for a while longer, we still have travel, people and dreams, remember!!! 😀
Music and a nap are therapeutic. Get well soon David.
@Suzy, it’ll take a little while longer for David to recover completely 🙂
It must be so painful for one to forget a few years of their lives. The story is so gripping Jairam. I have no time to read today, but I HAD to read your post. It is so compelling.
@Sugandha, that probably is the best compliment I have received for my writing so far…thanks a lot 😀
Again the prompt easily melted in your narrative…waiting for the next part!
@Aditi, thank you so much, enjoy the rest of the series as well 😀 Watch out for ‘travel’ tomorrow 😀
Music, just like food, has its own way of triggering memories. I am glad David seems to be able to relate to it. Let’s see what happens.
@Preethi, yes, music does have medicinal powers, and David does love his music 🙂
So now he remembers something from 15 years ago… Will tomorrows travel make him remember something more recent? 🙂
@Seeta, the whole series one big journey towards him recollecting his memories 🙂 isn’t it 🙂
Good going. The story coming along so naturally. Music is a sure shot memory jogger. So many moments of our life are tied together with songs.
@obsessivemom, glad you liked the series so far. And yes, even if we don’t realize it, music is quite an integral part of our lives 🙂
‘Is’ coming along… 😛
Man, where are you going with this. It just gets interesting everytime I read a new post? Music therapy is a great way to remember things. Let’s hope travel therapy works too 🙂
@Sid, travel therapy will also take David just that little closer to his destination 🙂
Apologies for the wrongly placed question mark 🙂
I completely relate to this. I feel this same way…funny, but I remember more music from the 60s than I do from the 90s, which is my generation!
@Michelle, guess you enjoy 60s music more than the 90s music, that’s all 🙂
Your post reminded me of my Sony Walkman gifted by Dad when I cleared 10th boards. The story is going strong. What is this with David that he doesn’t remember anything about Ram? Hope he remembers more in tomorrow’s post.
@Rekha, so many of us had a Sony Walkman in those days, didn’t we? 🙂 Yet another gadget that our kids will never get to see 🙂
That’s so true! 🙂
Ah.. MJ and his songs!! Got me thru childhood!! 😀
I loved Michael Jackson!! 😀
The way you have woven music with David’s memory is fab!!
I hope David remembers everything
@pixie, glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
It has to be extremely frustrating not being able the present but being able to remember bits and pieces of the past. At least he is remembering…which has to be something. I am loving your ongoing story and how you have brilliantly woven in the festival prompts. ♥
@Kathy, yes, the novella was constructed keeping the prompts in mind 🙂
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It must be frustrating to not get any answers from your memory, isn’t it? Hope that David finds his memory back soon.
@Rachna, enjoy the rest of the series 🙂 And yes, I have tried to explore all the frustration of someone who has only partially lost his memories, someone losing all his memories is another thing altogether 🙂
i like it how u have got into the skin of the protagonist! seems like he’s getting back some part of his memory, at least the distant ones….
@the little princess, yes, he seems to be slowly but surely regaining his memories, now, isn’t he?
That’s an awesome treatment you have given to a tough story to weave, I feel. The best thing is the Ipod played a part in recollecting events and the MJ angle. i can’t wait to read circumstances leading him to recollect things stores in the memory’s hard disk:)
@Vishal, thank you so much for the kind words, enjoy the rest of the series as well 🙂
Another part to carry us forward. Honestly I can visualise the irritation David is feeling in this state…
Richa
@Richa, yes, it is one thing to forget everything completely, and it is completely another thing to partially remember things, extremely frustrating, isn’t it 😦
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You are using all the prompts to revive his memory. One more day and he be out of his Ghajani avatar right!..Brilliant 🙂
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Nice account of music in that era… now that his memory loss is reduced to partial amnesia hopefully he is on his way to get out of that psychological trauma…let’s see
@Shelly, yes, music does help us go back in time, doesn’t it?
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[…] [Chapter 4 – Music] […]
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Madonna, Michael Jackson, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin… David has a cool taste in music, I say.. 😛