“So, Adi, what do you want to know about spices?” These were the words that started my evening at Iqbal’s, an old family friend and professor of management at UMass Amherst alongside my parents. Although his department is that of economics, his expertise, in my opinion, lies in the realm of authentic Kashmiri cooking. He taught me and my parents how food is traditionally eaten by hand in India, how they were often served in large, metal bowls in which the individual components of the meal were free to mix, and now (at the behest of my parents) I’d come to learn about the nuances of spice in Iqbal’s cultural background. Admittedly, I had no idea what questions to ask or where to start, but thankfully Iqbal came prepared for this lesson. He opened a large drawer underneath the counter, revealing countless honey-jars repurposed for spice containment. “In just about all religions, spices have been used as disinfectant,” Iqbal tells me as he passes me a handful of cloves, prom...
I read a book called A Mango-Shaped Space when I was in fifth grade. It’s about a young girl who discovers that she has synesthesia. She figures this out when she realizes that not everyone is able to associate numbers, letters, words, sounds, etc. with colors. I actually knew what synesthesia was prior to reading this book because my mom has it. My sisters and I loved having her describe the color of each of our names- mine was a dark shade of green to her. My mom is also extremely talented at playing piano and has the musical gift of having perfect pitch. I think this is because she is able to see colors when hearing sounds, which helps her identify notes and keys. I always wish I had synesthesia, particularly the type known as Lexical-Gustatory, in which a person experiences taste and smell from written and spoken words, as well as when they see certain colors and feel certain emotions. I think the fact that the individual is experiencing the world in an entirely different way and it being a condition that is relatively rare is the reason why it is generally viewed as a sixth sense. 
Your analysis of Abrams quote makes a lot of sense to me, too. I do not have synesthesia, but I more often than not find myself associating colors with sounds and people. Of course, this is just how our minds associate things together - or overlaps them- naturally. Also, that is so cool to hear how your mother has it! I don't think I've ever met somebody who has it, or had a family member that has it.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this quote, I also think of religious/spiritual experiences. There is no science or evidence to back it up, but there is something that makes us believe it is real. Maybe it's our sixth sense or our gut that makes us believe things that we do even though they are not proven or material. I think it's beautifully put that these experiences are part of how the world actually is. Not everything needs to be explained or told to us by a trusted source. I find that a majority of my spirituality comes from the fact that I don't know a lot of things and that the world and everything that exists is mysterious in its own way. Abrams also talks about how each place has its own history and its own personality. Different things hold different importance to different people there is no one right way or experience there are many. It's kind of as if science is one side of the story that many of us see and believe, but there are other sides to the story that we can't see but just because we can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist or that they're wrong.
ReplyDeleteGreat observations! I have argued in a paper I wrote that religious rituals tend to accentuate experiences of this second kind of synesthesia you and Abram are talking about, as opposed to the neurological one you mother has, Karen. For synesthetic experiences tend to be heightened experiences, because they're so sensorially packed, especially for those of use who don't always experience things synesthetically. And is that characteristic of those experiences we tend to call religious or spiritual experiences?! Extraordinary experiences.
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