When was the last time you looked at a puddle and thought of jumping in??? When was the last time you looked at a scrumptious cake and wanted to lick off the icing?? When was the last time you had a piece of chalk in your hand and you ended up throwing it on a friend?? When was the last time you blew bubbles inside a soft drink bottle??? When was the last time you swung with gay abandon on a park swing?? When was the last time you laughed along watching a cartoon flick??? When was the last time you went to a restaurant and played around with the plates and forks??When was the last time you chased your friend around a corridor??these questions may be disconcerting for you..you may choose to dismiss them masquerading as someone hard pressed for time..but the questions strike a chord with you somewhere deep down.
Growing up sure has been a wonderful experience…You have always wanted to get your first drivers lincense..your first allowance…your first drink…your first kiss..you get to do things that have previously out of your reach…now you can do things condoned as a no-no during your childhood years….sure you can drive around town on a bike or blaze the roads in your car…but don’t you just love the memories of you riding piggyback on your father’s shoulder,and going for a ride on his scooter sitting on the front seat??
You cant wait to grow up..you swim through the halycon waters of school life…you get into college..and the jet paced life sure takes a toll on us and we crave instant recreation…Bashing up bad guys or shooting their heads off is fun..wait now its considered cool by the college crowd who swear that Counter strike is the in thing…and if you make the mistake of asking what the hell that is…..you are looked down upon as some sort of disgusting caveman…..well don’t you miss those days of just lazing around in the shady haunts and plucking mangoes in your neighbours backyard?? Don’t you remember those days when doing nothing was such a great pastime?? Why ……the game of circle cricket was so engrossing that you would play till the cricket ball looked like yesterdays pancake from the kitchen.Don’t you miss those times when you used to trade cricket cards with friends secrectly under the desk?? Ever remember the craze for the newly released video games….remember how the game duck hunt used to make you smile????
Conformity was never a thing that had parlance among us when we are kids…today it is sworn by.If you have to eat a dessert outside it has to be in the swankiest of places..if you craved coffee it had to be in no less than a CCD…anywhere else and your peers would make you a laughing stock…….do you remember those summer days when those ice filled tubes were your fancy?? You just didn’t care that it was from a roadside vendor…don’t you miss those running -nose -kid days……days when you panted and huffed as you downed golgappas at the road side vendor not caring of years of unwashed neglect of the vendors cart.And do you still miss those days when on a rainy day you used to brave the rains for a hot cup of tea and sweet cake at the nearby rickety tin shop.??
Today you drool over fancy and slick bikes…anything else than that is deemed primitive….well remember those days when racing down the road with your weather beaten cycle challenging your friends was the ultimate adrenaline rush….you didn’t care about your cycle , you didn’t care what clothes you had on…you didn’t care whether they were streaked with mud…all you cared for was to really have fun…..
You may grow up and spread your wings…you may revel in your independence…but don’t you miss those days when you sneaked back into your house because you had missed your 6 pm deadline and didn’t want to face your father’s ire??You can make tons of money and splurge on it …but don’t you miss those days when you dawdled around the kitchen waiting for the opportune moment to ask mom for a tenner so that you could satiate your sweet tooth..and the moment had to be just right…otherwise mom’s purse strings were sealed shut.
Do you miss those days?? ..the wonder years….Sure you do …even I miss them too ..and sometimes at night I ask God-Make me a child again just for tonight…for we may grow up ..we may grow taller…we may smile less and frown more…but inside deep down ..we still are that small child whose life is still governed by fairy tales..
