Children’s day made me feel a bit nostalgic. Here are my memories of a wonderful childhood, despite the scoldings and whacks. (They were so normal at that time)
We ran with bare feet,
On soft muddy streets.
Played on wide open grounds,
With green grass around.
When leaves became chapattis,
And stones became rice,
What fun it was playing saakli,
And “dhaba ice spice”.
Tipris, tops and kites,
And antakshari at night,
Match boxes became trains,
Paper boats sailed in open drains.
Not houses, but homes,
With enough space to roam,
Space for dogs and cats,
Piglets, hens and rats.
Grandpa and grandma,
And hordes of cousins too,
Everything to be shared,
Nothing for just you.
Sprawling verandahs and wells,
and cesspools that smell,
Flowers blooming amidst the trees,
A garden to enjoy the breeze.
Jambuls and jaams and drumsticks too,
Were never bought but shared with you.
A huge basket of mangoes each month of May,
And fresh eggs for breakfast each day.
Cheese and chocolate,
We got maybe once a week.
Ham sandwiches and coffee,
A special Christmas treat.
Lazy walks by the lakeside,
And occasionally a tonga ride,
Once a year to town by train,
But to eat in a restaurant we’d beg in vain.
Mandrake and Phantom were fought over each week
With the Famous Five and Secret Seven, adventures we did seek.
Satyanarayan pooja meant a movie free,
Which the entire village would turn out to see.
Egg flips and poltices for coughs and colds,
And for castor oil on Sundays we were never too old.
The village was full of people you knew,
So news of your mischief reached home much before you.
Then chappals and karvantis and wooden spoons would fly,
It was no use appealing or to cry.
Then on Grandpa’s lap we’d climb and sit
The only place we wouldn’t be hit.
Oh those days of laughter and tears,
Imaginary friends imaginary fears,
Like a friend warm and dear,
The memories are still crystal clear!
© Sunita Saldhana
This poem captures exactly what childhood felt like for so many of us. Pure nostalgia infused in every line!
This brought back so many memories of simpler days. The food, the fun, the retelling of stories and the occasional whack – all made life so full and meaningful.
This poem made me so nostalgic. With the advent of technology and mobile phones, kids are only glued to the screen. They have lost touch with nature, people, and reality. We actually had a beautiful childhood. Maybe there were less comfort but no dearth of fun and laughter.
True. We had real relationships, friends with whom we had real conversations, not just boasting about who has the best PSP.
Half a world away, I can relate to so much of this from my own childhood. I grew a little sad, reading this:
“Match boxes became trains,
Paper boats sailed in open drains.”
We’ve lost so much of imagination’s training ground with today’s ready-made plastic toys that leave so little room for invention and experimentation and exercise for a child’s growing imagination. It’s all manufactured and spoon-fed to them.
I love the way you engage all the senses, here, too.
Which is why today’s children can’t think on their own. There is no space for creativity or imagination.