This Children’s day, I want to share few of my childhood memories with you all.
Jab main choti ladki thee, badee shararath kartee thee. That’s how we usually speak about our childhood. Agree?
We were seven siblings and our home was full of kids all the time, with us, cousins and friends of each one of us. We were the only family with a TV in the entire area which attracted many children to become our friends. At least 70 kids played in the huge play ground attached to our house every evening.
Fights with friends | jumping in the mud water | floating paper boats | spinning the tops | playing gilli danda | rolling those marbles in style and winning them in hundreds, giving them to mom who made beautiful artifacts | flying kites | climbing trees | running on the road in slippers | those extremely silly pranks on elders | bullying the younger ones (such a criminal I was) | making tent houses with mummy’s organdy saree | cooking a small bowl of rice on the fire made with three stones and sticks collected from the play ground, role playing teacher student and doctor while the rice was cooked, get some curry from home and serve food on bits of paper | bed time stories from mom (she wasn’t tired even after telling us Cinderella and Snow white a hundred times) | being the class and school monitor | showing favouritism towards friends and skip writing their names on the black board even if they were speaking while teacher was away from the class | winning the elocution | essay writing | speech on the stage on Independence day and republic day | waiting to be a part of boys cricket team at home which never happened | winning idly eating competition at home with 12- 10 score (don’t roll your eyes, I still can if it is idly) | crying the whole night because my mom did not ask me for more frayams but asked everyone else at lunch | being a go-between for my sister and brother-in-law (what a love story it was or should I say’ it is’? They still are in love and I say they owe me big time for keeping their secret ) | waiting for that one cake mom used to bake on my birthday | getting ready in a nice dress and run to neighbours with cake and desserts on the Christmas day | regretting for walking a kilometre just to wish my friend on her birthday with a gift from my pocket money and she took it and said thanks and bye and then closed the door (I was 10) | a tomboy with a long hair | embarrassed for the first time when my name was removed from the fancy dress competition just because I couldn’t dance ‘WELL’ (my mom put her best in getting the fabric and making a beautiful dress to make me a Rose) | crying my heart out when mom brought me back from the bus which was about to start for a week long excursion | stuck eyes to the TV when HE-Man, Spiderman, Giant robot and wait for Ek chidiyan, anek chidiya song on Doordarshan| no mobile | no laptop | no cable TV | no video games | NO TECHNOLOGY.
Childhood is cherished because we never had ego issues, no consciousness of who is watching us , what we are doing and what others would think. Transparent, straight forward, full of life and smiles. ‘Awesome’ is the word I can describe my childhood.
If you had such awesome childhood re-live it. If not, it’s the day to bring back the child in you. Go splash some water and enjoy. Eat that chocolate or ice-cream secretly. Watch a cartoon or call few childhood friends and remember your childhood days.
This children’s day cherish the child in you and bring back the child in you. How about visiting a park and rock the play area just like these two buddies of mine?
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| Picture courtesy – my best buddy Guru Prasad Rao |
or this energetic grand father who is swinging like a child. I am not sure if he was singing ‘Dil toh bachha hain ji’ but I was.
#Happy Children’s Day
the tin trunk 