Tazkirae

The year 2020 brought about profound changes to our lives, perhaps still an understatement for so many of us. For me, on common humanity level, it was as traumatic and senseless a period, as it was for any of us. However, on a deeply personal level, it got me some experiences that I will am most grateful for and will stay forever.

This page is about one such experience that was of becoming a small business owner.

As someone who has always been passionate about arts and crafts, this interest persisted into my adulthood.

In June 2020, while going through my late grandfather’s belongings (1914-2014), a man who lives on in our hearts, I stumbled upon his old Panjab National Bank passbook from the 1950s.

I immediately felt attracted to this beautiful little red journal which mostly had unfilled and yellowing pages of banking transactions. It was over 70 years old and seemed to be telling me, “Hey, there! I want you to know that I feel uneasy living in a closed cupboard like this. I’ve so been untouched and uncared for all these years. Please let me stay out and see more light of day.”

I didn’t know how and for what, but I wished to keep it and use it. The only way was to bind in new pages. So i did. Brought together whatever sheets, ruled, unruled, white, black, coloured, even maps, and printed papers; used a thick needle and yarn, and sew it to the red cover of the passbook.