Bhagvan
ka roop, mann ke sacche and maa ke ladle are the children of India. We children are pizzas with
a pinch of popping candy, travellers to the land of bubblegum, chocolate and
candy, the Einsteins, Sachins, Latas and Sudha Murthys of tomorrow, the
ultimate dramebaaz, sweet gulab jamun and rasmalai with
some shikhanji and lemon, lollipops of different flavours and the royal
family of mischief all rolled into one.
As small kids, we all had signature words from some alien
language. For example, as a kid, godi (lap) was dabbi, cow was
cow aunty and pig was pig uncle. When my sister was around five years old, she
used to answer every question with the word papita (Papaya). I asked her
once, what is the capital of India? She answered papita.
As tiny kids, we used to have the stupid concept of katti-batti.
If someone lost a game, they used to get angry and used to say katti.
The batti came moments later when some other person got a nice
chocolate.
As kids, we danced like nobody was watching. When I now think
of the way me and my friends used to dance, I remember the song, “Who let the
dogs out?” Our dance could be compared to the moves of an animal! And singing,
it sounded like Donald Trump shouting his heart out (in Hindi). We used to sing
like howling wolves.
Birthday parties were filled with passing the parcel, dancing
statue, musical chairs, newspaper dance, bombing the cities and other odd
games. Dancing on latest Bollywood numbers with an addition of crazy steps was
a very common thing. The cake had to be the most attractive ornament in the
party. It was means of show-off. Gifts and return gifts were exchanged with the
excitement of getting a gift. The curiosity to open it was more than the
curiosity we have to know about the world or even our exam results. The
birthday dresses were a big deal, ranging from yellow to grey, floral to
traditional, hairstyles and makeup were also a part. I remember seeing girls
applying eyeliners, blush, eye shadow on birthday parties and coming. I don’t
use those things even now!
Well, makeup reminds me of something worse. Barbie dolls!
Currently, I think of Barbie dolls as alligators in stilettoes with bright pink
Maybelline lipstick, a Faces blue eye shadow, hair of an L’Oreal blonde color
and a ‘pink’ dress. As a kid, Barbie doll were some sort of angels which had
descended from heaven to save us from the ghost, of boredom. They are devilish
for me right now.
Boys’ toys were much better than girls. I started liking
Beyblades at the age of 9. They were so much better than those demons called
Barbie dolls. Hot Wheels was also very popular. Getting the pleasure of driving
a car, though not actually, is much better than creating some weird stories and
enacting them with some idiotic dolls.
Apart from toys, even television was an integral part of our
lives as children. Be it the blue octopus Oswald, or the fast-running Thomas
engine, or the best builder in town name Bob, or Rob making us M.A.D., or
Noddy’s ice cream world, or the Suite life of Zack and Cody, or Kiteretsu’s
inventions, or the Wingz Club fairies saving the world, or even Shinchan's
mischief, all were a pleasure to watch. Doraemon and Chota Bheem weren’t that
popular. Cartoons at our time definitely had more common sense as compared to
the current ones.
Nowadays, heaven for most people is a tub of popcorn with an
amazing movie. But when I was small, heaven was bedtime stories. They were
definitely the typical and ordinary Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs,
Rapunzel, The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks and the Three Bears,
Cinderella, Snow White, Little Mermaid and Rumpelstilskin, but their charm was
just extraordinary.
The headline read, Happy Children’s Day, and all these
thoughts floated into my mind. My mind drifted towards a new headline, Modi bans
500 and 1000 notes: a good move or a step towards poverty? What came to my mind
after that is another story……
