The Holiday That Was

Childhood was fun. But that’s old news. Still, that queer, unexplainable part of you that makes you reminiscence what’s left over of your memories. That’s what this is.

School days made you think you wanted to grow up sooner. It was a race within ourselves, to see more candles on that cake each growing year. Grown-ups watched their favourite tv shows whenever they wanted. They could take their bike out even if it was drizzling outside, not having to worry about facing anyone’s wrath by doing so. Eventually, they could fall sick and no one would scold them for it. And even after falling sick, they can still go on about with work as usual and not have to worry about staying in bed. Whereas, much as we appreciated staying at home and not caring much about missing classes or notes, we never liked to stay in bed just for attention.  Time was inching then. And we all hated it.

 20 years later, I wish there were lesser candles every year on that cake; also secretly thankful that there are still people going through the pain of getting me a cake- procrastinating the fear of facing a day when not many remember your birthday, leave alone year marking your birthday with a cake. Now, I have the TV all to myself. But I do not have the luxury of being that couch potato for even an hour. Deadlines, calls-to-return, chores, to-be-paid bills, routine-follow-ups await me, invading even those 10 minutes that I may get to myself.

In school, we worried about receiving homework in more than a couple of subjects that may eat into our precious time. Much as we see today as we look around, childhood, our days, wasn’t made of iPods/iPads/IPhones/x-boxes/PS3s’ etc. No. We had “outside”. The most anxious moments we had were when we had to ask elders “can I go play outside?” as opposed to “can I play with your iPhone?”

“Outside” gave a lot of perspective. Every single person’s perspective of “outside” varied. And, what was important was, we did not have to worry about moral implications then. Coming back from school around 4 PM, I remember having to gulp down a glass of milk and gobble up a plate of yummy food, carefully and thoughtfully prepared by my grandma. If I only realized how short-lived they would be, I could have enjoyed those better. But, no. I had to rush.

There was always a playground nearby. We walked/cycled/played/danced/sang there. A huge space divided by areas of interests. There was a corner, made to fill with lots of sand, where people could practice long jump. And, yet another corner, with a maze to climb, a section with a swing/see-saw, a more bigger corner with a goal post for the football lovers..and then the major part of the ground in the center with a pitch allocated for Cricket. Being a cricket fanatic country that we belong to, our interests in cricket started right there near home from as small an age as 5, not in schools- after class hours in the name of “cricket-coaching” at the age of 12 or 13. And if these varied interests weren’t enough, there was an imaginary ring, running around this ground, for people to learn/practice cycling.

I remember playing in each of these sections; my most used being the cycling one. During those days, having a cycle to call one’s own was considered extremely honourable. I wasn’t bestowed this honour during my early learning days. Once my snack time was over( cartoons running alongside), I ran out around 5PM to my friend’s place, who unlike me had a cycle. But life wasn’t so easy. I had to haggle for a chance to ride that cycle- the most harrowing experience as a child. And that chance came when your friend grew tired of cycling after a while. Now, that point could be anytime when she cycled her way along a 5-7 km stretch around the colony. So, what do I do to ensure that I got my chance? I run behind her, round after round, the numerous times she circled the residential colony, so that I may get my 10 minute sympathy ride. I don’t think I would have done this after the age of 15, because that’s when I began to know what words like ego, hatred, annoyance, jealousy, scheming, inhibition etc meant. When I ran behind that cycle, I dint know any of those. Neither did my friend. Life was peaceful then. One went after what one wanted. The wants were simple. Sadly after the age of 15, the going-after-wants took a more serious turn and the wants became complicated, worldly.

Construction time was fun. Anyone, constructing a house anywhere in the colony, meant that a lot of sand would be deposited right outside their house. And, there have been innumerous days when the whole lot of us plonked ourselves on that sand, oblivious to impure air, germs and worries of getting dirty. How much fun you had was directly proportional to how dirty you got. Back then, our parents understood that getting clean was just one wash away. And they dint worry about getting an anti-septic injection after each round of fun.

Holi was one such particular event. Days when there might still have been toxics in the colours. But, as life went by, we dint care. And when I say we-dint-care, I necessarily don’t have to feel guilty about it. Unlike now. Once we returned back from school, one friend would visit another – an act of a rather common protocol then. And once the second friend was coloured in various shades of holi powder, the two would set out to the third’s house. And by the end of the evening, there would be a whole lot of us, in different sizes, races, age- and of course, colours.
Holi in school was just using one colour though; the colour of ink from our pens- blue, on uniforms that were as white as chalk powder otherwise. Yet, we could still be addressed a decorous batch. We dint have to worry about suspension either.

There were these fairs in schools, under different names in each school for sure. And not to ignore the several days- teachers’ day, childrens’ day, Founders’ day, sports day, annual day, Literary Fest, Charity day…the list is endless. The fun part was- we were at school instead of at home(unlike now when these are declared holidays), taking part in a huge number of festivities, giving talks, speeches, rehearsed plays/roles, danced to learn all about culture, wrote articles by referring to a lot of books- fiction/non-fiction and what was special was- handwrote them using colour pencils, sketch pens, drew pictures and even painted the charts. Today, you have coloured charts to ‘stick’ pictures or printouts, carefully taken from websites. Websites, then, were under parental control, when one’s parents thought checking ‘History’ would ensure them of their child’s innocence. Today, however, a 4^th std school-going-internet-savy kid seems to know the option ctril+H. And uninstalling parental control/lock is child’s play.

I sympathize with kids these days. Their playtime is restricted to an hour, just an hour at the max, every evening. And that was when they dint have to worry about missing tuitions/coaching classes. And when they had extra homework/tests, this study hour usually eats into their playtime, unlike in our early days when playtime until sun set and light faded out was considered mandatory. Oh, we belong to a generation where video games existed too. Except, those were for after playtime “outside” or were to be taken full advantage of only on rainy days. We finished homework, studies for daily tests, watched tv during dinner and were in bed by 10.30PM. Falling asleep immediately was easy after an active day as that. My nephews/nieces find it unable to fall asleep before 12 at midnight as they lie awake in bed. Bedside reading has become a lost cause too.


For kids of today, that play outside, you see them playing by themselves, bowling to a wall or cycling around a residential campus, in cycles with attached training wheels- as there is no one to hold the back or give that push of confidence. Training wheels have taken over various walks of today’s child.

Kids these days are certainly more talented. They have learnt what they can from virtual apps on phones and from the internet. Which brings us to another worry- how much of internet is good for today’s ‘exposed’ kids.

Childhood etches out the person that you turn into. It’s an undistinguishable part of you that no other individual can take away. It’s yours to claim and yours to hold until the very moment that you breathe your last. Time that’s run by has never returned. It’s important to remember this on our way to not just deadlines; but also on your way to grow-up. Because we forget what it feels like, so easily in the hurry.  After all, no one wants to remember a submissive childhood. What we lose, is the immeasurable instances that we smile and laugh for- the very instances that will allow us to hold on to staying young, even as we grow old each day. It may come from seeing your dog lick you crazy, when you walk out into the balcony to do an errand and surprise yourself to a visual treat of a rainbow, when you are able to climb up three floors of stairs, pant and yet feel good about the sweat. It is when you spend half hour of your precious time to sit in the lesser-known-children’s park that you find around the corner of your street and smile at the toddlers trying to grab hold of their already withering-childhood. It is when you truly realize what makes your life beautiful- a holiday that never ends.

“All that glitters is not gold”
But, these memories glitter. And they are gold.