Childhood amnesia

Childhood amnesia

I spent a few days with my aunt last week and used this time to learn as much family history as possible from her - the geneology, eccentricities, family traditions as well as all the juicy gossip and scandalous details which were kept from us as children and young adults. She had her fun by recounting some of my childhood gaffes and embarassing moments. It was disappointing how little I remembered of my childhood. Although childhood amnesia is commonly associated with early childhood, most people are able to trace their earliest memory to the time they were 2 1/2 or 3 years old. Granted that my memory in its current condition doesn't retain details of what I had for lunch yesterday but with a little jogging, I can usually remember the broad outline of pages from past chapters in my life. But here I was listening to her as if she was narrating a fictional story to me and then she turns around and tells me that I was the author and hero of the story. I wish my mother had a mom blog - or may be not considering some of the things I allegedly said/ did as a child.

So I spent all morning trying to chronologise my memories and to get to my earliest memory. It was tough to separate real experiences from second-hand memories. This usually happens when you have heard others recount events from early childhood even though you yourself have no memories of these. Thus, for example, I now know things I am supposed to have said when my sister was born even though I was just 2 at that time thanks to other adults recounting the same to me. And then there are photo album memories. One has seen photos of what one did as a baby and imagines one remembers the experience.

My earliest memory is of death - that of my paternal grandfather. I was three years and a few months old.I remember my father holding a paper( telegram) with a serious look, and flash images of a sudden flurry of activity ,quickly packing and leaving for the station. I remember where and how his body was kept and my aunts sitting around the body crying. I remember following the funeral procession up to the end of the road - women and girls could not go beyond that. As we walked back to the house, I remember turning to look at the body and an aunt who was crying asked me not to. And then, Nothing. No more recollection of anything that happened then.

Strange how I seem to have retained such a vivid memory of this - perhaps this was the first moment of intense emotion that I experienced around me and hence the impact. I did not know what death was, I do not remember crying for my grandfather or feeling sad. Perhaps my mind recognised it as something important and captured the images and stored them away to be processed at a later date. Too bad that it is the only memory I have of my thatha.

What is your earliest memory? How old were you then?