I grew up in a time when things were simple, air was natural.
decades gone by, a life well lived and so many new memories created, but here I am entwined with the simple, normal and wonderful life I lived in the 90s.
First and foremost there was no such thing as parenting back then and I remember me and my friends playing until the sunsets, back home with bruised knees and broken arms.
The days my brother was late, he was welcomed by my father with his usual question. 'look at the watch and tell me the time' which would follow with rules and regulations lecture and time management.
We played with sticks and stones, tried to build bridges for frogs to walk in the rain, collected earthworms, put them in our flower pots and watched them multiply till they were overflowing. I remember my brother breaking thermometers to see the mercury running and wasting perfume spraying it in the house. My parents always wondered why the house always smelled of perfume and where all the new thermometers disappeared. We ran behind kites falling from the sky and when it got difficult we got sticks from our homes-the ones you use for drying clothes, we made tents out of bedsheets and forts out of cardboard boxes. We made our own games, got wet in the rains, slept on the grass, jumped in puddles and made paper-boats.
There are so many things to explore right in your own backyard that bring so much joy. It is difficult to find that kind of happiness sitting on a couch watching a TV show or having your head stuck in the mobile phone. All these experiences shaped the people we are today, we realise the true value of the things that actually matter in life! They are found in abundance in the experiences you have and do not cost money.
We used to wait for occasions, birthdays and festivals to get new toys or clothes, they were a luxury for most and we were happy when we got them. Going to restaurants or eating out happened rarely
Birthdays were not about return gifts and theme parties but about celebrating your day with your closest friends We gave handmade cards and letters to each other written in broken English and filled with lots of drawings, ball, parle g biscuit pack which was half finished.
Festivals were spent together with family and friends. Not all the kids had the same type of crackers during Diwali…some had more while others had just a few. We had a common box in which we used to dump all the crackers and all of us took them out of the box later to burst them. We had no qualms about handed down stuff either. We learnt to share at a very young age, our toys, our clothes, our books, our food and even our feelings!
There is something about human relationships that cannot be replaced with digital interactions. Whenever I am faced with a problem my mind starts thinking up various solutions and possibilities. I rarely fret about it or feel unsure about how to deal with the issue at hand. We know anything and everything has a solution and if it doesn’t – it has a lesson
I grew up and have seen a life without social media, fast wifi, mobile phones ans am using them now. I enjoy the convenience of the technology but crave for the personal touch.
Facebook friends can never be replaced with childhood friends and air conditioned play areas can never replace the outdoors.
Abroas vacations can never replace grandparents home.
Most of the time it feels like yesterday, our generation has stored the childhood in memories and not in photos and videos.
Given a chance, I would love to go back being a child again to experience all those simple things yet again.
Love
Nandini Mithun