Gift a memory

Anwita Sarin's work

A niece blogs about her former Miss India aunt, another little girl creates a scrapbook for her older sis... it's time to archive memories. Anuradha Varma reports

There's nothing like turning back the pages in time to revisit precious memories. A gift of the past creates firm bonds in the present.


A book of memories: When Vijay Mehta turned 70 in August last year, his family gifted him a coffee table book of memories. Recalls his wife Radha, "He was reduced to tears. He said we had made him immortal. My daughter Anjali Soota and her husband, based in Singapore, contacted friends and family, who shared their memories about him." The book was unveiled along with a video during the celebrations in Lucknow.





A scrapbook is also a great way to keep memories alive. Mumbai-based Kaya Shewakramani started Kreating Keepsakes after making scrapbooks of photographs for family and friends. She says, "It's simple and yet special and unique to each individual. No two personalised scrapbook albums can be the same. One woman created her daughter's growing years, from her hospital birth to her 21st birthday. A 10-year-old girl made an album for her 15-year-old sister on her birthday."

A life archived: Anwita Sarin combined her talents as an artist, textile designer, illustrator and stylist to put together an exhibition which turned her focus on her husband's grandmother. While studying in London, she participated in a reminiscence therapy group organised for the elderly. This triggered her work Looking In Your Wardrobe, which led to her archiving the life of "a member of my family, Audrey Sarin".

Based in Delhi, Anwita explains, "My work is an investigation into how old objects can perpetuate memories. I write biographies by imprinting memories in the form of photographs, letters and writings onto personalised objects, using hand screen printing and embroidery. These objects then become part of an installation."

She believes, "Storytelling is an inseparable bond that brings together generations - a bond that creates a feeling of oneness and belonging." Besides receiving enquiries for creating similar installations, she was touched when a 10-year-old girl told her mother that they should go home and take out her grandmother's photographs to make a scrapbook.

The memory project: Anusha S Yadav began researching for old and new wedding pictures for a book on Indian weddings, but the search led her to something beyond - an oral history of Indians. From Facebook, the project went online as The Indian Memory Project, where people were free to post their collective memories. She recollects, "If I were to put 20 pictures and their stories side by side with Mumbai city and people through time, it would give me a fair idea about Mumbai's history!"

Veena Sajnani, Miss India 1970

The images and stories include model Veena Sajnani's story, contributed by her niece Smita Sajnani, on how she won the Miss India contest in 1970, beating Zeenat Aman. Another tells the story of a teenaged couple Chameli and Phool Chand, who fought for India's independence, contributed by their grandson Sreenivasan Jain. The sepia photograph shows them holding hands, unconventional for those times. Anusha states, "We are also in midst of a curious generation, exceptionally curious about the future and somewhat respectful of history."

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-13/trends/30338517_1_oral-history-coffee-table-book-scrapbook