Music
doesn't trigger childhood or any of my memories. Rather than music,
specific sounds are the soundtrack of my life, and nostalgic memories of
my childhood come flooding back when I hear some of them.
Whenever I hear the sound of trains in Bollywood movies, it brings back memories of my unforgettable journeys on Indian trains and their utterly unique sounds. Thud-ag-thud, thud-ag-thud, thud-ag-thud. Repetitive, soporific, hypnotic, a sound once heard, never forgotten. Oh, and so much more. After all, in a country where a rail trip from the South (Chennai/Madras) to the North-East (Guwahati) takes full nights and days, childhood memories of Indian trains get suffused with so many myriad sounds, especially the enduring calls of train station chaiwalas (tea vendors; About - Chai Wallahs of India; Chaiwala). No matter the time of day or night the train pulls up into the station, the call of the chaiwala resonates. He goes chai-chai-chai-chai-chaii
Often when I hear the clickety-clack of hoof beats, it brings back memories of those vacation horse-buggy rides across the old India that still lives alongside its modern counterpart. Old Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal. My childhood horse-buggy rides in all these cities. So different, so exotic, so exciting compared to mundane everyday life, those holiday horses with their swishing tails and their snorts. In turn of course I then remember that one summer vacation in the Northern hill station called Shimla. My dad had arranged for horse rides for the whole family. We saddled up but as we headed out something strange happened. It appeared that the horses my dad and brother were on had other ideas. The two of them appeared to be inseparable so much so they kept clinging to each other, grinding my dad's and brother's legs between them in the process. The guide kept admonishing the horses and tried to yank at them to separate but they kept clinging to each other. Laughing hysterically at this bizarre display, my mom and I almost fell off our own horses. An unforgettable family anecdote.
Sometimes when I hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore just so, it triggers memories of childhood vacation trips to Chennai, in particular to its Marina Beach. Scared of the Bay of Bengal, that vast expanse of water in front of me, I'd cling tightly to my uncle's hand as I braved the water's edge. As the waves crashed down, my feet would sink down into the soaking sand, and as they receded, that sudden leap of fear in the heart as they drag-pulled my sand-stuck feet along with them. As the waves receded, that strange disconcerting feeling of moving yet being perfectly still.
Indian trains, voices of chaiwalas, hoof beats and the sounds of waves crashing on the sea shore. These sounds tend to trigger memories of my childhood.
https://www.quora.com/What-tune-lyric-brings-childhood-memories-back-into-your-mind/answer/Tirumalai-Kamala
Whenever I hear the sound of trains in Bollywood movies, it brings back memories of my unforgettable journeys on Indian trains and their utterly unique sounds. Thud-ag-thud, thud-ag-thud, thud-ag-thud. Repetitive, soporific, hypnotic, a sound once heard, never forgotten. Oh, and so much more. After all, in a country where a rail trip from the South (Chennai/Madras) to the North-East (Guwahati) takes full nights and days, childhood memories of Indian trains get suffused with so many myriad sounds, especially the enduring calls of train station chaiwalas (tea vendors; About - Chai Wallahs of India; Chaiwala). No matter the time of day or night the train pulls up into the station, the call of the chaiwala resonates. He goes chai-chai-chai-chai-chaii
Often when I hear the clickety-clack of hoof beats, it brings back memories of those vacation horse-buggy rides across the old India that still lives alongside its modern counterpart. Old Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal. My childhood horse-buggy rides in all these cities. So different, so exotic, so exciting compared to mundane everyday life, those holiday horses with their swishing tails and their snorts. In turn of course I then remember that one summer vacation in the Northern hill station called Shimla. My dad had arranged for horse rides for the whole family. We saddled up but as we headed out something strange happened. It appeared that the horses my dad and brother were on had other ideas. The two of them appeared to be inseparable so much so they kept clinging to each other, grinding my dad's and brother's legs between them in the process. The guide kept admonishing the horses and tried to yank at them to separate but they kept clinging to each other. Laughing hysterically at this bizarre display, my mom and I almost fell off our own horses. An unforgettable family anecdote.
Sometimes when I hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore just so, it triggers memories of childhood vacation trips to Chennai, in particular to its Marina Beach. Scared of the Bay of Bengal, that vast expanse of water in front of me, I'd cling tightly to my uncle's hand as I braved the water's edge. As the waves crashed down, my feet would sink down into the soaking sand, and as they receded, that sudden leap of fear in the heart as they drag-pulled my sand-stuck feet along with them. As the waves receded, that strange disconcerting feeling of moving yet being perfectly still.
Indian trains, voices of chaiwalas, hoof beats and the sounds of waves crashing on the sea shore. These sounds tend to trigger memories of my childhood.
https://www.quora.com/What-tune-lyric-brings-childhood-memories-back-into-your-mind/answer/Tirumalai-Kamala
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