The Day I Was Born
 My 66-day Journey of Healing Through Writing and Sharing - Healing - Memoir - Personal Stories

The Day I Was Born

The day I was born was a Saturday in August. 7 August 1965 was the exact date.

In that special week of August people in US were listening to I’m Henry VIII, I Am by Herman’s Hermits. In UK Help! by The Beatles was in the top 5 hits. Help!, directed by Richard Lester, was one of the most viewed movies released in 1965 while Up The Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman was one of the best selling books. (from *TakeMeBack )

The US President was Lyndon B Johnson, the UK Prime Minister was Harold Wilson and closer home our Premier was Lal Bahadur Sastri and our President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Around The Day I Was Born

More importantly for our country, it was two days after our neighbouring country had aggressively crossed over the border. The noises of war were loud. I’m sure my birth was overshadowed by the fact that my Dad, an officer in the Indian Infantry, would soon have to leave to join his Army unit.

Dad was there at my birth, and I was told he sent off a telegram to my aunt who had taken my eldest brother (then 6) for a short trip, announcing the arrival of ‘Maria Corinne’. This was a name he had chosen to give his daughter long before my two brothers were born. As it turns out, a little over a week later, he had to take our family back to the city he was posted to and leave for the border. My mother, bravely looked after the three of us, all under the age of 7, while she watched Dad’s fellow officers and soldiers being brought back home wounded, or worse, got news of those that had been killed.

I can only begin to imagine the insecurity that was present in our family, and I realized much later on, how much of it I had absorbed. As I’ve mentioned before anxiety has been something that I’ve been owning and working on in recent times.

I also believe that this situation made me a very precocious, sensitive, yet insecure child.

From things said over the years, I’ve guessed that things between my parents were a little difficult before I was born.  Perhaps, irrationally, like children often do, I felt responsible for this. So, depending on the circumstances, I became the family peace-maker or the trouble-shooter.

I hope this sharing of mine can help you understand me better. I would encourage look back at your own childhood and see how the time before, during and soon after your birth might give you clues about any part of yourself that you, like me, are still struggling with.

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This is a picture that Mum had taken at a studio, so that she could send it to my Dad, for him to see how I was growing. Apparently, the studio owner like his own picture so much, that he took permission to display it on his shop window!

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This is Day 25 of My 66-day Journey of Healing Through Writing and Sharing. As I mentioned in my post , I might be reposting some posts that I wrote a few years ago – mostly personal stories or those shared with me by others which talk about emotional pain and dealing with it.


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Corinne Rodrigues, a writer, coach, and blogger from Secunderabad, India, shares insights on life, creativity, and wellness through her blogs Everyday Gyaan and The Frangipani Creative.

One comment on “The Day I Was Born

  1. What a beautiful post, dear Cory. And the picture is all <3 <3 <3 s!!!

    Thank you for letting us into these minute details. And allowing us into your world, while being genuinely open, honest and vulnerable.

    I'd like to write a post like this. Bet, it would lend my inner child so much solace. The circumstances we are born in leave far many imprints on our tender hearts that we can ever imagine.

    Such a gorgeous, angelic, cherubic child were you and your Mum is a stunner! No wonder the studio asked to display this picture.
    Sending you warm tight hugs. You are in my thoughts. xoxo

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