Shreya Baronia | Week 14: Musical Connections
“Badtameez dil, Badtameez dil, Badtameez dil mane na,” I sang in frustration. My cousin had done something yet again to annoy me. But since he was older than me, I could not say anything to him. In response, I always sang this song, trying to indirectly call him Badtameez (ill-mannered), which he figured out quite quickly. However, he could not stop me from singing. Every time he complained to his parents that I was insulting him, I just said that I was singing a song, successfully getting out of trouble.
Recently, I have been listening to 2000s bollywood music again and going down the memory lane to when I was younger. Music has always played a huge part in my life and I can pinpoint almost any moment in my life using a song. Whether it be going to sleep listening to my mom sing a bhajan or learning my first bollywood dance on the song “Ainvayi Ainvayi,” music is so deeply intertwined with my memories that I cannot imagine living without it.
This is likely because music engages many parts of the brain, so when a tune connected to information is replayed, it can spark a memory. As a result, whenever I hear a song again, I am transported to another time. I can smell the unique smell of my Taima’s house, feel the humid summer air, and experience the cool air blowing from the water cooler I helped my grandpa fill every time I saw the water level go below the fill line. I can hear the kids playing outside and the birds periodically singing in the early morning, beckoning me to go in the backyard and ride my tiny bike with training wheels while my mother “fueled” me up by feeding me each time I completed a lap.
Perhaps this close connection I have with music is why I cannot stop myself from singing every time a song I know comes on the radio. Maybe it's why I cannot stop myself from going into the past. Maybe music is why I still remember the memories that would have been lost to time.
Hi Shreya! I completely agree that we all have some sort of musical connection! Personally, I know that when the song "Levitating" by Dua Lipa pops on the radio, my mind immediately goes back to 2020 when cinnamon rolls were baking in my oven while I prepared the cream cheese glaze that I would brush on top of these delicacies. I recall hearing the distinct sounds of the notifications from my Google Hangouts, chatting with my friends about how we did not finish the homework assigned for the day yet. I also agree how music engages various parts of the brain so when a particular beat is strung to an indelible event, it can respark that memory all over again. As the radio plays beats from five years ago or even from this past month, I also catch myself pondering on my past because each song unlocks another memory, almost as if they are soundtracks to each chapter in my life.
ReplyDelete