Once upon a time…

January 6 2012

You hated being called a kid, but everyone loved you for that.

Play time was outside the house.

TV time was on Wednesdays and Fridays to watch Chitrahaar and Oliyum Oliyum.

You only got to watch cartoons on Doordarshan on Sunday morning.

You loved to tear the blue inland letters for your grandparents, and prided yourself in doing it clean.

You could do absolutely anything, for absolutely anything that tasted sweet.

Getting to sit behind Dad, in the back seat of a bike, was nothing less than a privilege.

Two milk powder tins, connected with a thread, was the coolest phone you knew.

Getting to watch a movie after 10 in the night was something to brag about to your friends for months.

The only remote controlled vehicle you had, was called a ‘Kite’.

Your biggest fights were with your brother/sister.

The biggest fights you fought, were for your brother/sister.

You were proud to say that you wanted to be a Police Officer.

Sleep was not a problem and you slept like a log whenever you wanted to.

Back aches and muscle pains were only after wrestling the kid from the nearby colony who broke your cricket bat.

At birthday parties, you ate more icing than cake.

You hated shopping for clothes.

your handheld video game, was filled with water and had small plastic balls that had to be put into baskets, by pressing a small button which pumped air.

Rajinikanth and Kamalhassan were your favorite actors.

You did not care who the actress was.

You believed in Magic.

You believed in Ghosts.

You thought the old, night watchman of the nearby bungalow was one.

You hated Doctors.

You wanted window seats in absolutely any form of transportation you travelled in.

Travelling in an airplane was a once in a lifetime dream.

You saved every paise you could get, to buy a 50 paise chewing gum and collected the small thumbsize card inside them.

A lady teacher, no matter how old she was, was called ‘Miss’.

You hated your Maths Mahalakshmi Miss.

The best special effects you knew, were in Ramayan or Mahabharat on Doordarshan on Sunday.

There was a TV called Solidaire.

Reality shows were silly dances and skits done in school during a function, or in your colony during the New Year’s eve.

You could crash your cycle with a thud between the legs of your neighbor Uncle, and still be called for Dinner at their home.

You could get away with absolutely anything naughty.

You thought that sharpening a pencil without breaking the shaving was an art.

The only meetings you attended was to decide who would go an fetch the ball that landed at that ever-angry Aunty’s house.

An emergency was when that ball would break her glass window.

The only time you wanted money was when your friends were collecting 1 Rupee each for buying a new ball.

Grown-ups, apart from parents and teachers were of 2 types – Uncles/Aunties, Thatha/Paati-s. 

You looked at grown-ups and wanted to be one as early as possible.

You grew up and realized what an idiot you were to wish for something like that, and spent on writing or reading something like this…