Food and memories

How unbelievable it is that our sensory memory is stronger than our own grey matter!

A few days ago my friend was dining with me in the cafeteria. She had bought homemade pickle in her tiffin. She asked me to take little pickle from her tiffin knowing very well that I am a pickle lover. I took the first bite of pickle and it transported me to my childhood days.

I rememberd hot and humid days of summer in the month of May. I, a 10 year old girl, entered my home. I saw that my mother was in the kitchen. In her hands were green raw mangoes (kairy). I asked my mother what was she planning to make with those raw mangoes. Mum told me that we were going to make mango pickle.

I sat with my mother while she was preparing the pickle. My mother was peeling the mangoes. I rememberd how the smell of raw mangoes was heavenly. It was tempting enough that I felt like eating them immediately. Then my mum asked me to cut the mangoes in small pieces. As per my mother's instructions I diced the mangoes. I kept them in a plate.

Then my mother give me the mixture of salt and spice to be applied on to the mangoes. I sprinkled it on the mangoes and mixed well. Mangoes with spice mix had been even more tempting, almost impossible to resist. This is when my mother decided to reward my hard work. She give me a couple of pieces of the mango. When I put those pieces in my mouth I could taste salt, spice, the tangy mangoes and the blend was heavenly. At that moment I felt like the hard work had come together in form of the delicious pickle.

While eating the pickle given by my friend I felt like I was watching my childhood in form of a film. I watched my entire childhood right in front of my eyes. I felt like I was back to my childhood and was again 10 years old. But that was not the reality. I was 30 years old and not a child. I was working in the office. I was a grown up adult who had to worry about life, family, money, and career. I was no longer the fun loving, carefree child I was back in the day. That moment I felt that my childhood was eons away from me.

But a single bite of the pickle brought back several fun memories from my childhood. At least for a few moments I was able to taste my childhood. For a few moments I did experience the fun, enthusiasm, and happiness of my childhood. A sensory memory had given the happiness and satisfaction I had been dreaming about for years.

It was strange that how the sensory memory triggered the happy memories. At that moment I felt that happiness was not for fetched but it was very close to me. I only had to find the right means to achieve it rather than chasing it. I found the key to happiness and that was the sensory memories.