Every time I receive an invitation card from my college for the alumni meet, I regard it with both cheer and dread. It’d be enjoyable to catch up with my old classmates and discover who’s aging gracefully and who’s “down-aging” desperately. But that’s only one side of the story — the fun part. On the other side, I have to face the ordeal of identifying people correctly, not just because they might have changed beyond recognition over the years but also due to my memory letting me down.
Last time, I struggled to recall the name of a familiar face near the doorway of the auditorium where an event was about to take place. I had, however, one significant clue. Her name reminded me of the jasmine flower. But the catch here was, in which language? Tamil, English or Hindi? God! Why do we have so many languages? I became frantic when our eyes met. I surprised myself as I stumbled on the name just as she entered my row in search of a vacant seat. “Hi Mallika!” I greeted her. She murmured as she went past, “Not bad! You remembered me.” Well, I didn’t want to find out whether she remembered my name and discomfit her and myself too in the bargain.
In recent times, it has been found that many people have tasted success in life only beyond the age of sixty. They cite stories of high achievers like Nobel Laureates and tycoons who’ve earned name and fame after retirement because of better focus and a committed approach, as they are relatively free from day-to-day issues unlike the younger lot. This might be true in some families who have inherited an elephant-like alertness, but not in all. Take mine, for example. Our clan is well-known for bumbling around with the attention span of a goldfish. It takes me back to a time, many years ago, when a celebrity from the film world passed away and the whole State went into mourning. While we siblings were pondering sadly over the loss, our Grandfather from his corner, stunned us all with his remark, “Oh! But I thought this man was already dead!” And that was from someone, who’d never miss reading the obituary columns in the newspaper, first thing in the morning!
For a long time, we thought it was Grandpa’s metaphorical way of alluding to the mental state of the star who’d become disillusioned towards the end and was as good as dead before his actual demise. It’s only now when we are advancing in age, do we realise that this was a clear case of false memory syndrome because Grandpa had imagined an event that never really took place. This could happen to any of us, even prematurely, with too many distractions and information overload. Our memory seems real to us but how can we be sure whether it’s true or not? While we drift into past reminiscences, maybe it’s a good idea to check for signs of growing alarm on the faces of listeners, torn as they are between sympathy for our condition and the need to be factually correct. It’s the only way to curb our flights of imagination.
In today’s world, the smartphone has proved to be a real face-saver. A quick fact-check in Google can put us on the proper track and save us from making embarrassing statements about facts and figures. It’d also grant us the glow of a “smart senior” with that age-is-only-a-number air, provided that we remember to refer to it now and then and stay updated.
saraswathi100@yahoo.com
