Memory and Remembering
David Tickner tells a story about a village that had forgotten its history. It's a good reminder about the importance of remembering our stories to know who we are, where we've been, and where we're going. In fact, "Remember who you are" is the tagline for the Pacific Jubilee SoulGuiding program.
photograph by Jonathan Hislop
by David Tickner
Several years ago, I was involved with many others in a community development project in the village of Maliwada in central India. At that time, the villagers of Maliwada struggled with subsistence farming in the semi-arid plains and grasslands and were dependent on the annual monsoons for water.
In Hindi, mali means gardener and wada means a place—and so Maliwada means the place of the gardeners or even Garden City. In the initial stages of the project, someone asked, “Why is this arid and dusty place called Maliwada?” No one knew. The usual reply was that it has always been called Maliwada.
In the distant horizon you can see a ruined fortress atop a hill. Almost one thousand years ago, this fortress, called Daulatabad, was the capital of a major Hindu kingdom for over five hundred years. For a short period in the early 14th century, Daulatabad was also the capital of the Delhi Sultanate.
We wondered, could there be a connection between Daulatabad and why Maliwada had its name — the place of gardeners? One of the project consultants found recent aerial photographs to find out. Sure enough, the photos revealed the existence of numerous irrigation canals and water tanks. Over the centuries they had fallen into disrepair and could no longer be seen from ground level.
Maliwada had been a source of food for the fortress! No wonder the place was named for gardeners and gardens. But none of the villagers remembered this. The story had been forgotten.
So, one of the first steps in the project was to dig out the irrigation canals and tanks and wait for the monsoons. The following year, agricultural production and revenue tripled. The village simply remembered and recreated the history of their village. In 1984, the United Nations International Exposition on Rural Development awarded top honors to the Maliwada Human Development Project.
Reflecting on my involvement in this project, I wonder what I have forgotten. What calls out to me to be remembered? I wonder how often in the midst of our daily lives and routines, we forget what we have known or, perhaps, have forgotten that we are known.
David Tickner
"As a teacher I have long been fascinated by memory. Brain research tells us that we recreate a memory each time we think of it. And, of course, memory and remembering are closely related to stories and storytelling.
I have a lifelong interest in the origins and histories of words; in particular, the words of religion and spirituality. What experiences have moved people to create such words? What experiences have I had? I am both curious and fascinated by the various art forms we use to share and reflect upon such experiences with each other."
