The Memory Makers: The Keepsakes Continue

Our contest The Memory Makers was about photographs of objects that belonged to an ancestor or have been part of your life for a long time. A keepsake you truly treasure; one you have cherished over a number of years and continue to do. The idea behind the contest was to celebrate August as a month of memory, in keeping with a Silver Talkies tradition since we began. Along with the contest, we will also share stories of times gone by throughout the month. Let’s try a create a virtual album of times gone by.

We thank you for your overwhelming response and for sharing your precious keepsakes with us. Here are some more treasures we received:

Paan Dani

This is my most treasured possession. A Paan dani of my great grand father. It brings back memories of evenings spent listening to stories which he recounted while he patiently made his paan with the exact number of ingredients. The betel leaf was always wrapped in moist mulmul cloth and it was a ritual to behold that is still fresh in my mind. From the early 1930s.

— Veenu Tiwari Misra

Radhakrishna Swing

This Radhakrishna swing is from my paternal ancestral home. It has been in our house since my childhood. It’s a beautiful ivory piece and every time I look at it, I hope no elephant was killed to acquire the tusks. It makes me so proud of our traditional craftsmen too ! I love the Gandhi face on the drawer. I keep some of my precious possessions inside the drawer.I will always cherish it!

— Geetha Prasanna

Bronze Kettle

This kettle made of bronze is more than 150 years old and weighs around 3 kilograms. In those days when electric kettles were rare, it was used to boil water for drinking. The main beauty is that it used to retain heat for a long time. Later it was passed on to me. I cherish this as an antique piece and it now adorns my show case.

— Prema Subramaniam

Old Five Channel Radio

This is my Granddad’s 5 channel radio which is still gold. The importance back then was only for the sound quality, which truly is the soul of any stereo. My grandmom remembers how it used to be the only source of any music back then, she used to love listening to All India Radio on it. This priceless beauty is still given prime location in the house, away from any supposed dust collecting areas. 

— Joel John

Ammi’s Tea Set

My mother’s gift on her 4th birthday when she was ready to read the Quran. The ceremony is called the Bismillah. Her dada got it for her.

— Subuhi Saiyed

Grandfather Clock

This 100 years plus French made Grandfather Clock, even now shows the time twice a day correctly. As a school boy I helped my grandfather while winding both the the timing and ringing areas of the clock every week and also admired his care of it. Ringing of the clock was heard till the end of the road in the 50s and 60s when buildings and noise on the streets were less. The clock is one of the assets inherited from our 11 room home in Madras, now Chennai. It is now with me in Mumbai in my small apartment. I’m very grateful that the clock fitted exactly in the balcony.

Handcrafted Bag

This was done by my mother in law 50 years ago. She is no more and was knitting till the last day of her life. It is a cloth and jute mixed bag where you can keep important papers or a small book and was a birthday gift from her to me. It’s something I have cherished over the years and still do.