"When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more
popular than cricket ...

When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy),
chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime ...
When we desperately waited for 'yeh jo hai jindagi'..

When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal, dada daadi ki
kahaniyaan were so fulfilling ...
When there was just one tv in every five houses and
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were
worrying if papas will get back into the train in time
or not when they were getting down at stations to fill
up the water bottle ...

When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp except for
the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day ...
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly hand-made pakwaans and
sweets and moms seeking our help while preparing them...

When Maths teachers were not worried of our mummys and
papas while slapping/beating us ...
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and
chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes ...

When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved
flying kites and plucking and eating unripe mangoes
and leechis ...

When one movie every Sunday evening on television was
more than asked for and 'ek do teen chaar' and
'Rajni' inspired us ...

When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees ...
When left over pages of the last years notebooks were
used for rough work or even fair work ...

When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged against
'reynolds and family' ...

When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing
in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kashtis' ...

When there were no phones to tell friends that we will
be at their homes at six in the evening ...

When our parents always had 15 paise blue colored
'antardesis' and 5 paise machli wale stamps at home...

When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding
'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough to stop
us from laughing ...
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and
gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting or
allergic agents ...

the list can be endless ...


on the serious note I would like to summarise with ...

When we were using our hearts more than our brains,
even for scientifically brainy activities like
'thinking' and 'deciding' ...
When we were crying and laughing more often, more
openly and more sincerily ...
When we were enjoying our present more than worrying
about our future ...

When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak...

When sharing worries and happinesses didnt mean
getting vulnerable to the listener ...

When blacks and whites were the favourite colors
instead of greys ...

When journeys also were important and not just the
destinations ...

When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time
and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open
and transparent glass windows instead of some
superfast's second ac with its curtained, closed and
dark windows ...

I really miss .. do u? "