<p>Remember the iconic character of Subodh in the movie Dil Chahta Hai? “Tum bhool gayi na? Theek paanch mahine pehle, aaj hi ke din maine tumhe apni dil ki baat bataayi thi”. </p>.<p>Well, that’s me. Really! Of course, I’d like to flatter myself by thinking that my family and friends love me and don’t despise me for it. At my first job, my friends christened me ‘Subodh’, owing to my memory. I could remember movie dialogues, the expressions, birthdays of almost everyone I knew and conversations word to word! Most of this holds true even today, 15 years later. I leave it to you to imagine my husband’s predicament.</p>.<p>I am also a Time-Table sort of person. Now, this probably has to do with some deep-rooted childhood conditioning. When I was a little girl, my grandfather used to tell me and my younger cousin brother that we have to wake up before sunrise, get ready and say our prayers. We both would gawk at the seemingly impossible task of waking up before the sun, but it was imprinted in my mind as ‘THE’ right thing to do.</p>.<p>Ever since high school, I haven’t woken up later than 6:15 am. Kolkata even saw me waking up at 4:45 am!</p>.<p>But then, I made a lot of friends who are very different and we have a good hearty laugh whenever we talk about these differences.</p>.<p>One of my friends and I were once discussing our holiday habits. I was telling her how my husband and I love being early for the buffet breakfast so that we get everything fresh and hot. She burst out laughing at this and said that they are the last ones to arrive at the buffet and usually have to call the staff from the room and ask them to keep some breakfast for them! I wonder what will happen if we holiday together! Most likely, we will have breakfast and brunch! </p>.<p>Coming to the aspect of remembering dates, it seems to be a family trait. My grandmother, father and sister are all great at remembering dates and events. My Mother-in-Law too is great at it. We pride ourselves on being the first ones to wish someone on their birthday.</p>.<p>I have several patterns created, linking people, dates and so on. There are the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice birthdays and anniversaries, April Fool’s Day birthdays, Gandhi Jayanthi birthdays and anniversaries (my friend announced her wedding date and immediately added that her anniversary will always be on a dry day), Children’s Day anniversaries and many more.</p>.<p>Once, I was rattling off everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries at a wedding. While people were impressed and told my husband so, he said that we should find a way to monetise this skill. After much thought, I realised that it is already getting done. This is my retirement plan. When there’s not much left to do and probably fewer people to meet, I will have a large database of memories to choose from, to relive, reminisce and feel those emotions again.</p>.<p>No one can take away memories from you. Well, Alzheimer’s can. Here’s praying and hoping it leaves me well alone.</p>
<p>Remember the iconic character of Subodh in the movie Dil Chahta Hai? “Tum bhool gayi na? Theek paanch mahine pehle, aaj hi ke din maine tumhe apni dil ki baat bataayi thi”. </p>.<p>Well, that’s me. Really! Of course, I’d like to flatter myself by thinking that my family and friends love me and don’t despise me for it. At my first job, my friends christened me ‘Subodh’, owing to my memory. I could remember movie dialogues, the expressions, birthdays of almost everyone I knew and conversations word to word! Most of this holds true even today, 15 years later. I leave it to you to imagine my husband’s predicament.</p>.<p>I am also a Time-Table sort of person. Now, this probably has to do with some deep-rooted childhood conditioning. When I was a little girl, my grandfather used to tell me and my younger cousin brother that we have to wake up before sunrise, get ready and say our prayers. We both would gawk at the seemingly impossible task of waking up before the sun, but it was imprinted in my mind as ‘THE’ right thing to do.</p>.<p>Ever since high school, I haven’t woken up later than 6:15 am. Kolkata even saw me waking up at 4:45 am!</p>.<p>But then, I made a lot of friends who are very different and we have a good hearty laugh whenever we talk about these differences.</p>.<p>One of my friends and I were once discussing our holiday habits. I was telling her how my husband and I love being early for the buffet breakfast so that we get everything fresh and hot. She burst out laughing at this and said that they are the last ones to arrive at the buffet and usually have to call the staff from the room and ask them to keep some breakfast for them! I wonder what will happen if we holiday together! Most likely, we will have breakfast and brunch! </p>.<p>Coming to the aspect of remembering dates, it seems to be a family trait. My grandmother, father and sister are all great at remembering dates and events. My Mother-in-Law too is great at it. We pride ourselves on being the first ones to wish someone on their birthday.</p>.<p>I have several patterns created, linking people, dates and so on. There are the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice birthdays and anniversaries, April Fool’s Day birthdays, Gandhi Jayanthi birthdays and anniversaries (my friend announced her wedding date and immediately added that her anniversary will always be on a dry day), Children’s Day anniversaries and many more.</p>.<p>Once, I was rattling off everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries at a wedding. While people were impressed and told my husband so, he said that we should find a way to monetise this skill. After much thought, I realised that it is already getting done. This is my retirement plan. When there’s not much left to do and probably fewer people to meet, I will have a large database of memories to choose from, to relive, reminisce and feel those emotions again.</p>.<p>No one can take away memories from you. Well, Alzheimer’s can. Here’s praying and hoping it leaves me well alone.</p>