Manoj Godara, 6 August : Most of all, we learned to respect others….
We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibilities. ..
Sometimes while lounging around we unintentionally fall into the lap of those wonderful, beautiful yesteryears and then the real life rewinds into a reel of fond memories. And that’s when we recollect the fond memories of carefree, technologically not so advanced that indeed Nostalgia is indeed a universal affect that results in a heightened mental state, an enhancing, uplifting mood related to particular memories of the past.
We had no seatbelts, no airbags and sitting in the back of a truck was a treat…
Our baby prams had the most gorgeous lead based colors… No such thing as tamper proof bottle tops…
Opening kitchen cupboards was a breeze… as safety locks were unheard off…
Cycling was like a breath of fresh air
No safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads, with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike…
When thirsty we only drank tap water, bottled water was still a mystery…
We kept busy collecting bits & pieces so we could build all sort of things … and we were fearless on our bikes even when the brakes failed going downhill…
We were showing off how tough we are, by how high we could climb trees & then jumping down….It was great fun….
We could stay out to play for hours, as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner…
We walked to school, or sometimes we even rode our bike.
We had no mobile phones, but we always managed to find each other on time….
How? No one knows…
We lost teeth, broke arms & legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses…. nobody complained as we had so much fun, it wasn’t anybody’s fault, only ours
We ate everything in sight, cakes, bread, chocolate, ice-cream, sweet sugary drinks, yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around.
And if one of us was lucky to find a campa cola bottle we all had our swag from it & guess what? Nobody picked up any germs…
We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo’s, I-Pods, Video games, 99 Cable TV channels, DVD’s, Home Cinema, Mobile phones, Home Computers, Laptops, Chat-rooms, Internet, etc … BUT, we had REAL FRIENDS!!!!
We called on friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the back…
We loved being let loose in the big bad world…without bodyguards…
We played with sand and water, sticks and stones, played cowboys and Indians, mummy and daddy doctors and nurses, hide and seek, soccer games, over and over again…
When we failed our exams we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same grade…without visiting psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors…
Such were the days…
We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibilities. ..
Most of all, we learned to respect others….