Memory

- By Geeta Kapadia

Memory is essential to our idea of who we are, without it we have no sense of continuity, either as individuals or as communities.

In the minds eyes---some objects are created as aider-memaire—deliberate prompts for the memory, they give remembrance a physical form ,People who have strong power to recall have always been valued especially in societies that have no system of recording events in writing .In the past sacred texts were often, recited for generations before they were written down. Just as people can hold narratives in their mind , an aide-memoir ,is also container of memories.

The aide-memoir does not reproduce in detail the things to be remembered, but instead works symbolically. At its most basic it is like a knotted handkerchief –only the object’s creator can interpret its meaning.

Even after death some people are represented as if they were still alive .Their lives, their appearance and their deeds are idealized and they are imagined as continuing reality. This is especially true of religious figures whose lives continue to provide powerful sources of images after they have died. Memories in such cases may provide consolation and inspiration , healing and protection.

Memorabilia such as souvenirs and momentous-objects brought Forward from other times –evoke memory and create nostalgia, particular intensity and sense of devotion are aroused by relics or objects brought back from religious shrines or sites. Modern pilgrims still bring back Holy water, soil for others badges of posters. There is ancient and continuing need to create and collect objects as tokens of memory .

Memory is constantly changing, reshaping our experience of the past and present to create a sense of the future. Today photo, film, video and computer all work as instrument of memory. Images and sounds may appear to fix time, but on reflection , they to dissolve into the flow of remembered events.

Creating objects continues to be a means of creating memory, from simple souvenirs to work of art they are collected by individuals communities and museums and continue to chart the progress of our memories.

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