Connected Pasts of Love and Life
Many of us have grown up listening to stories about the lives of our parents and grandparents. And some of us have lived through times of transition and change as well. There were times of wars at home and abroad, riots and disturbances, partition and resettlement, recession and recovery, migration and rehabilitation. They were interesting times which may have been difficult and challenging but people lived life as normally as they could; they fell in love, married and raised families in happiness and hope, even as tragedy and despair loomed large.
Many of us have grown up listening to stories about the lives of our parents and grandparents. And some of us have lived through times of transition and change as well. There were times of wars at home and abroad, riots and disturbances, partition and resettlement, recession and recovery, migration and rehabilitation. They were interesting times which may have been difficult and challenging but people lived life as normally as they could; they fell in love, married and raised families in happiness and hope, even as tragedy and despair loomed large.
People lead lives as events unfold and history is made. Ordinary lives reflect human experiences of momentous events of the past, their anecdotes of daily lives providing an animated chronicle of history.
Some of these stories have been recorded though many still remain untold. The purpose of this project is to gather these scattered stories and real life sketches and build an archive of memories. They will be narrated and written by different people who inherited stories and memories and had many of their own, in their own manner, giving every story a special flavour. The historical backdrop will be provided as additional annotations and notes.
The stories will not be limited to any geographical or national space but represent an era. A life of a man or a woman raised in Norfolk could resonate with others born in Krakow, Sienna or Bombay
The idea is to create a blog where these stories will be uploaded and made available for wider reading. Each contributor will be responsible for what is being written and published. The editor will add notes of explanation and context wherever necessary, in consultation with the writer. If it not her or his own story, the writer must be related to the person she or he is writing about. The contributions must be descriptions and not opinions.
The objective is to record these stories for the present and future generations and evoke their interests in the past which was more than dry catalogue of dates and events they reluctantly study. Diaries of lives, it is hoped, will touch the present as our children and grandchildren prepare themselves for their own challenges in future.
Tapti
Blog Link: pastconnect.net
Email: taptibr@gmail.com
