A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

Do you know what it is like being a 90’s born kid?

If you think it is boring, then you certainly do not know what it meant to be a child back then. I was born in 1995 and trust me I have seen so many wonderful things during my childhood, that today’s kids will never get to witness. Right from some cool cartoon shows to Treat JimJam biscuits, 90’s kids had the best childhood days.

We were literally the kids who saw the world transition from cable landline telephones to high-tech mobile phones. You know, at home we had that rectangular landline telephone with number pads and a spiral cord connecting the receiver.

And back then, we didn’t roam around while speaking on the telephone. We used to either sit or stand at a place and then speak to the person on the other side. I still miss having a landline phone.

These days, we have several online food delivery services to deliver scrumptious food at our doorsteps. However, during those days, there were no such services. Still, we enjoyed relishing our food. Every Sunday morning, my uncle used to take me and my cousins to the eatery shop in the nearby market to buy kachori and chutney. In the evening, one of the family members was chosen to bring hot samosas and gulab jamun.

Back in the day, we didn’t have social media platforms to share memes and update our whereabouts. Children would look forward to playing with other kids in our society and sharing the highlights of the day. I remember, from 2000-2005 whenever there was a power cut, we used to sit outside our houses along with neighbors and tell stories to each other. Children would recite poems, play around or listen to the radio.

Every Sunday morning, my cousins and I used to watch MAD, a show on the POGO channel in which we learned various crafts skills. On Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed watching Baby Looney Toons, one of my favorite cartoon shows. It is not just cartoon shows that excited us, there were so many TV serials that made our day. Shararat, Son Pari, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Mum Tum N Hum, Hum Paanch, and Tu Tu Main Main – really kept us glued to the TV. Those were the days when TV had lots of content to cater to the audience.

In fact, there were so many chocolates and toffees that we used to have. Now I can hardly find them. Even if I find some of them, they either no longer have the same taste or come with some different packaging or names.

If I sit and count…. then the list won’t end as the box of memories is never-ending

Once you open the memory box, you won’t feel like closing it. Some memories make us lively and remind us that even though things have changed, there was a time when we were happy and lived life to the fullest. Perhaps, therefore, we often cherish our memories. Every time I look back to those golden days, I wish to relive those days once again.

MY FAVOURITE APP OF ALL TIME

It was in 2012 when I got my first phone. It was a feature phone meaning it had a keypad. I was so excited about having my first phone. It had a very small screen, just half the size of a passport-size photo! Today when I looked at my smartphone, I wonder was it me who was using that feature phone?

Even after using so many smartphones and high-end mobile applications, my first mobile phone is quite special. It was a Motorola flip handset. Though there were a few applications that allowed me to call and text people, it was still the best. There were no games applications on my Motorola phone. One of the best things about that phone was that in case, I received a message or a missed call, the tiny screen over the outer side of the flip, used to blink. There were tiny icons for showing battery life, messages, and calls.

I was so fascinated by this feature back then, that I would often ignore my incoming calls just to see the missed call icon blinking. After using it for over a year, I switched to a Samsung Champ handset. However, this was for a short time as my father lost it in a crowd. The reason why I switched to the new phone was that I wanted to experience what it was like to use a touch-screen phone. Once I asked my uncle to buy a new phone for me and he agreed and bought a Samsung Champ.

The Samsung champ had an in-built gaming application that was all about collecting diamonds. I often played that game and it was one of my favorite pastimes. Now since it was my first touch-screen handset, I loved playing that game by scrolling through the screen.

But no other game can compete with the Zombie HQ game that I started playing when I was pursuing my graduation. Back then I was using one of the Motorola smartphones. The game was so interesting that I could play it for 2-3 hours at a stretch. The game was all about hunting down zombies and killing them with some high-end weapons and collecting points. At first, the game seemed a bit difficult to me but then I aced it.

While killing the vampire, my fighters used to yell and grunt and I liked it. This is when I realized how games and other applications make us addicted to them. Soon, I uninstalled the application. This is when my friends persuaded me to use Instagram as it was the thing that allegedly made us cool. Eventually, I started using Instagram and I still use it.

Still, I am not a big fan of Instagram even though I use it every day to watch cute dog videos and scroll through my news feed. The only application that I genuinely admire was Hike Messenger. Its servers were shut down this year in January and trust me, I miss Hike every day. It was such a cool application but it didn’t get as much fame as WhatsApp and Instagram enjoy.

The best thing about Hike was that it had so many stickers. I mean you could type a word or sentence and you may see stickers in the auto-suggestion. The chat theme of the application was so vibrant. There were plenty of chat themes and they were undisputedly beautiful. Not only this, one could hide their private and important chat through the Hide Chat feature. The feature kept the chat hidden and no people could find it except the user himself/herself. The notification ringtone along with the feature to send offline messages was so good.

Even today I wish for the makers of Hike to make a comeback and start afresh. I haven’t uninstalled the application from my phone and I don’t think I would ever like to uninstall it. However, when I change my phone, I would be erasing all my data from my current phone, and then Hike will be gone forever and this makes me sad.

My friends often ask me to just let go of Hike and I don’t know why I am still not ready to do this. I know this is stupid. But I prefer holding on to this hope of seeing Hike back on the Google Playstore.

How true it is, that we hold onto certain things in life even when we know they don’t exist anymore!!! Does this make you wonder and ponder about it?

Well! Then keep doing that…

THE DESIRE OF HAVING A DRESSING TABLE

Life is quite unpredictable and one has no idea what’s next. The only thing that is certain about life is its uncertainty. Still, life brings so many beautiful and sweet memories to us. Today I am going to share one such sweet memory with you.

This picture reminds me of an incident when I was still in school. I was studying in the 9th standard. During that time my Dadi (grandmother) was alive and I remember she was quite old. Her face had numerous wrinkles and freckles. She was told that she faced quite difficulties while walking. She had a wooden trunk and also a shabby looking box made up of tin. She used to keep them locked and kept her things into it. Upon being asked what’s inside them, she used to say that she keeps her lovable possessions. At times, when she opened her trunk and box I had a few opportunities to see what’s inside them.

One day when I was done with my lunch and was heading towards our drawing-room, my eyes caught her attention. I peeped inside her room. She was sitting on her bed and her trunk was wide open. She was holding a mirror in her hand and was looking into it. Since her bed was near the window of her room that opened in the passage leading to the living room, I could clearly see how she was looking into the mirror. The mirror was quite old-fashioned and had several dark spots on it. It seemed that somebody deliberately sprinkled some dark colors in the mirror. Still, my Dadi was looking into it. She tucked her loose strands behind her left ear and was observing her wrinkles and freckles. She adjusted her large specs and touched her cheeks. I wanted to ask her why she was looking into such an old mirror in which her face isn’t clearly visible. But then I saw a small teardrop rolling down her cheek and I stopped myself from interrupting her. After some 15 minutes, she carefully covered the mirror in a cloth and tucked it inside the trunk.

I couldn’t stop myself and therefore, one day I asked her about that mirror. She said, “I was seeing how old I have grown. When your grandfather was alive, I used to put kohl into my eyes, tie my hair, put bindi, and look myself into the mirror. I used to ensure if I am looking well. But when your grandfather passed away, I never felt like doing any such thing. After all, he wasn’t there to admire that kohl, a nice bun, bindi, and jhumka.”

“That mirror was a gift from your grandfather. I never had a dressing table and I always wished to have one. I often asked your grandfather to bring one for me,” she said further while taking a deep breath.

“One day he came home and handed me a packet. I opened it and saw a mirror in it. He said, ‘I can’t afford a dressing table for you but you can consider this as your dressing mirror. Place it on your wooden trunk and then you can sit down and get ready.’ This is why I have been keeping this mirror for all these years. I used to keep it on my wooden trunk along with my comb, sindoor, bindi, hairpins, and oils. Though I never had a conventional dressing table, your grandfather somehow fulfilled my dream of getting ready in front of a dressing table by giving this mirror and suggesting to put it on the trunk.”

I don’t know what happened to that mirror after she passed away. But that trunk still stays in her room. The trunk now has her comb, two old sarees and a part of the wooden frame of that old mirror. It stays there unused but full of memories that my grandmother cherished till her death.

UNDERSTAND YOUR KID(S) PERSPECTIVE

No matter how old we grow, our parents will never stop telling us what’s good and bad for us. They will always be on their toes to keep a check on whether their kids are going in the right direction or not. They do this not only because they gave birth to us but also because they consider it to be their responsibility. The same did my parents and they still do the same. For them, I and my brother are still the same babies that they lifted for the first time.

I remember, like every other parent, my father used to say, “You have to be the first in your class and sit in the front row.” Upon being asked, he used to say that this will help you in scoring the first position. However, I was born rebellious and therefore, I did the exact opposite of what I was asked to do. I never had any liking for the front rows and I would be extremely happy to sit on the last bench. To my utter surprise, I scored good marks and was one of my teacher’s favourites too. When my parents said, “See how sitting in the front rows helped you in scoring good marks.” I said that I never sat in the front rows and I scored while sitting in back rows. I don’t remember what happened next but yes since then, my parents never asked me to sit in the front rows.

I understand why our parents laid emphasis on sitting with the topper of the class or sitting right in front of the teacher. But what I think can make things easier for children is that parents can use a different perspective. For example, instead of pointing at a beggar on the road and warning their children to study hard else, they may face the same problems as the beggar, parents can explain the benefits of studying hard. They can say, “Studying and working hard will help you in becoming whatever you want. You can also buy whichever toy car or dress you wish to have.” This is because children at their tender age cannot understand the harsh realities of life. For them, not having their favourite dollhouse, toy car or motorbike is much more painful than we think. So why can’t we do something to make them understand in a way they can grasp easily.

My parents asked me to score 95+in exams and said this will help me in getting into an engineering college. Trust me, initially, I thought it to be quite easy but then I couldn’t understand why is it so important for me to go into a college. My mom told me going to a college will help me in becoming an engineer and make everyone proud. But all I wanted was cookies, color pencils and regular visits to the zoo. I couldn’t see how becoming an engineer would help me in getting what I wanted. As a result, I decided I won’t become an engineer. Today I understand how going to the college or becoming an engineer could have helped me in getting my cookies and other things.

Let’s take another example. These days young children are often seen holding gadgets and replacing their play-time with YouTube and video games. Parents initially allow their children to watch cartoons or videos on their smartphones, thinking this would keep them (read: children) engaged. But in no time, they (read: parents) often scream at their children, thinking that this way the children will give up on smartphones. However, the reality can be different. Instead of screaming on your child to stop watching videos, you can invite him or her to play football, chess, or any other games. As a parent, you can make your child aware of the consequences with some real-life examples.

I am not a parent and therefore, I might not be knowing what a parent feels for his/her kids. But yes, from my experience, I can feel that instead of shouting, intimidating and keeping vague answers, you can never convince a child. You need to see the world through their eyes and explain them in their language only. They will never understand how scoring 90+ in exams can help them in becoming scientists or doctors and how important it is to get into a good college if you don’t understand their perspective. He/she may do the opposite of what you ask him/her to do.

I am not saying you are doing the wrong thing. But you can do something better by understanding their perspective and explaining things accordingly. This way you will be able to help your children in a better way.

DESI FLAVOURS – THE TASTE OF INDIA

There is no denying fact that food is the best way to win someone’s heart, irrespective of gender. So, a few years ago my mother won my heart by making some delicious recipes. It was so delicious and easy to cook that I learned from my mother, only to cook myself when she is away. So today I am going to talk about a dinner recipe that you can prepare and enjoy with your family members.

The first item in the recipe is ‘Chawal Ki Roti’ which means chapati prepared from rice flour.

For this, you need:
● Two cups of rice flour
● 3/4th cup of hot water
● Half teaspoon salt
● 4 Tablespoon Ghee
● One clean damp kitchen towel.

First of all, you need to boil the water in a suitable container. Meanwhile, sieve the rice flour into a kneading utensil to ensure no unwanted substance will go into your mouth. Now add the salt into the flour. Once the water starts boiling, turn off the knob and add the water into the flour.

Make sure you use a spatula to mix the water and flour as the mixture will be quite hot to be touched by bare hands. Leave the mixture as it until the mixture becomes slightly cool. Now you can start kneading the mixture into a dough by adding little amount of water. Make sure you do not add too much water at once. After you are done kneading the dough, keep it aside for 10-15 minutes after covering it with the kitchen towel.

After 10-15 minutes, take small portions of the dough and roll them into chapatis. Place the chapatis on the heated Tawa. While the chapati is being cooked due to the dry heat, use teaspoons to apply ghee on it. You can skip applying ghee and leave the chapatis dry but applying ghee will enhance the taste of the chapatis and will make them extremely soft.

The second item is ‘Bhindi Ka Chokha’.

For this, you’ll need:
● 4-6 Bhindis (Ladies’ finger)
● One nicely chopped onion
● 6-7 pieces of chopped garlic
● 2 finely chopped green chilies
● 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
● Some coriander leaves
● One teaspoon of lemon juice

In order to prepare this, you will have to roast the bhindis on the flame after properly washing it. Once the bhindis are completely roasted, peels off their out skin and mash them in a bowl. Add onion, garlic and chilies into it. Mix them properly and then add salt, lemon juice and vegetable oil. Once everything is well-mixed garnish it with coriander leaves.

You can have these two delicious recipes with any daal (lentils) or a gravy item. The above-mentioned recipes are quite simple, yet mouth-watering. The chapatis are prepared in my village after the harvest of Kharif crops (monsoon crops or autumn crops).

In this world of modernity, these Desi flavours of India are taking a back stage, these days. People are more in to fast foods and continental food and many other international cuisines. But sometimes these desi flavours teach us simplicity and humility which is very important for us in our lives. It reminds us our originality. It reminds us of the care a mother or a grand mother bestows upon us. I am happy, I am still so inclined to these simple preparations.

How about you?

I LEARNED TO BE A REBEL

I don’t know if I was a rebel during my childhood days or not but now I am. I feel that some series of incidents have made me rebellious. When I was a kid, my family members would have mistaken my rebel nature for being a ‘demanding-kid’. I wanted things to be done according to my will but obviously you can’t win against parents. Therefore, they did what felt appropriate to them. Eventually, this instilled a feeling in my mind, “When you grow up, you have to show them how things should be done.”

It would be no wrong to say, I learned how to be a rebel. Yeah, that’s true! I learned, it is okay to oppose someone’s orders if you are uncomfortable. I learned, it is okay to be out of the box and pave your own way. Earlier I used to think that being a rebel is totally unacceptable and is no less than disrespecting parents. But then I realized what if I am not happy or comfortable with whatever my parents and relatives decide for me? For example, my parents felt that it is no use in letting me move to Bangalore after my graduation. My relatives too said, “You will be anyhow married in two or three years. So why not learn some household chores to impress your in-laws?” 

I thought – “Will I be doing nothing but trying to impress my in-laws for the entire life?” “Is my education meant only to grab a nice groom and household?” People told getting married to a nice groom will make your life peaceful and settled. In that case, I never felt that I am unstable or I do not have peace of mind. This is when I decided I have to bring out the rebel in me. I stood on my decision to move out of my hometown and do something. As a result, I am in Bangalore right now, living my rebellious life. 

But this doesn’t end here.

My parents and relatives feel that wearing short dresses and skirts will harm my image. Even today they say, “why do you have to wear shorts and skirts? Can’t you wear full clothes?” Honestly, I would have agreed to do so only if, they never saw those actresses dancing and posing in short clothes. I know they are often angry at me as I stay out till 12 in the night but that’s my way of living. I know that being out at 12 in the night has nothing to do with my character or values and therefore, I hardly surrender before them. The one who is involved in some wrong deeds can do it even in the daylight. 

Currently, I am rebelling for making my parents understand that I hate when they talk about me with those whom I hardly know. I am a reserved person, though I do sound like an extrovert. But I do not like it when my parents speak every single detail of my present to any random person. 

I do feel sorry for hurting my parents with my rebelling attitude but then, what’s the point when I am unhappy and suffering!! In that case, I won’t be able to make them happy and proud.

Therefore, I feel being rebellious unless you don’t cause a damage, in the long run, is absolutely fine. Also, you need to be responsible for whatever action you take. 

BRIBE, THE GREATEST CHALLENGE AGAINST JUSTICE

The moment a child is born, he or she is taught about what is good and what is bad. The child gets to know various things from its parents and teachers. Once the child is old enough to gain knowledge on its own through various mediums he or she comes to know of various laws and rules. This happens with all of us. While growing in maturity, we get exposed to things that are acceptable and unacceptable in our society. But then, what goes wrong when someone commits a heinous crime just to satisfy his or her ego. 

The incident which I am going to mention in this story, happened a few years ago in my hometown. Property dispute is not an alien concept in this country. People are often seen fighting with each other and conspiring to shun down their opponents. In my neighboring village two families were involved in a similar case. They were trying their best to win the case and satisfy their so-called reputation. Now let us call the families as family 1 and family 2. The head of the family 2 decided of doing something that would teach a life lesson to family 1. For this, they kidnapped the youngest boy of family 1 and killed him mercilessly. The mother, on the other hand, was searching for her son like anything. Her instincts told her something is not right as nobody couldn’t find her son. 

Four days later, the corpse was found near the village pond and the parents cried bitterly feeling traumatized. For them, their whole world literally went upside down. But for family 2, it was a gala time as they had taught a lesson to their opponent.

Anyways, a case was registered as family 1 had doubts on family 2. But then family 2 took the help of influential people in the area. The case was eventually closed and family 1 was given some bribe to shut their mouth. The whole village was shocked by this incident. The conclusion was when we came to know, ‘the entire system is corrupt‘. The policemen too knew that family 2 plotted the murder  and should have been punished. But they went on to settle the case by accepting bribe from them. 

Think about a scenario where every single case is dealt in such a manner. No doubt we have an impressive judiciary system with laws to curb criminal activities but what’s the point when one can use their influence and money to challenge the judiciary system and bent the law for themselves… Is the law and judiciary system so weak that money and influence can overpower it and let the culprit roam freely? People may think that it is better to let bygones be bygones. But is this right? There are several cases in our country that are manipulated and closed with the power of money. No wonder ours is an independent nation and is developing at a fast pace, but then there are still some dark areas upon which we need to focus.  

Friends! This hush money is standing as a wall against justice, which we all need to break with force. Are you ready to do so?