Those were the days......

As children we often used to hear our elders talk of the good old times when money had a lot of buying power, when a rupee could fetch a kilo of ghee or an anna would suffice for a nice treat ...when people were more sincere and less materialistic and so the list would go on and on. And later sitting alone I would wonder what it was about those times that these people remembered with so much nostalgia...did they not like the progress brought by science and technology? Was life not much more comfortable now...the telephones, faster modes of transport, clean well planned houses and urban life with glittering markets not better than those days when things were slower and well...more rural?
But today having myself lived a decent number of years I too find myself fondly saying....

Those were the days when I would go to my grandfathers village with my cousins .Every morning after breakfast we children would go prancing along the dusty streets to the mango orchard and feast on freshly plucked fruits and then run through sugar cane fields to the tube well to clean ourselves before coming home to a fresh meal made lovingly by the ladies of the house. Oh what fun it was when all of us sat together on the floor giggling and telling tales about each other till the next chapatti came our way!

Those were the days when we first came to Delhi in 1964...when we used to go for picnics to Buddha Jayanti Garden armed with sheets and mats for the elders to relax on , food and even a stove and cooker for cooking some hot khichdi and lots of playing gear. We never minded not having a car and having to carry everything in local buses!
Every year on 26th Jan we would go to India gate lawns to watch the Republic day Parade with friends and family. We would sit in the stands and munch sandwiches and stuffed paranthas from our picnic baskets as we proudly applauded the contingents passing by. There were no security checks to stop us from carrying our stuff to our seats.

Those were the days when departure or arrival of a loved one from a foreign country was a big event and the whole lot of us would go to the airport in a hired bus to see off or receive them...we could walk almost upto the runway and see them getting onto the plane When Munna Mama went to UK for higher studies he even hung the marigold garland we had given him on the window of his seat so that we could make out where he was seated!! Their return would be even more exciting as the bags were opened and gifts were distributed...and the slide shows at night when the whole extended family would sit together to enjoy the sights of distant lands...the sounds of fun and laughter still echo in my ears..

Those were the days when all my cousins would spend the summer holidays together...those lazy hot days spent huddled in groups over a game of cards or snakes and ladders, playing badminton or seven tiles in the evenings and dark room at night. No one bothered that there was no air conditioning or television in the house...it was one big family and while we children played the ladies would see to the cleaning washing and cooking. All of them were mother figures to each of us and there was never any concept of yours or mine. In Shamli the famous chat vendor would be called at home with his pots full of yummy gol gappas ,papri and tikkis that we could gorge to our hearts content....and the huge baskets of lichees in Roorkee which we would polish off in a matter of minutes...oh .the taste still lingers.....


Those were the days when the summer nights were spent outdoors and we slept on cots spread out in the garden or the terrace under the stars...the long story telling sessions which ended only when the eyes would no longer remain open. I will never forget Tandan uncles tales of the witch with hair just an inch shorter than the distance from Delhi to London...and how he would spin yarns for my sister, who sat wide eyed, soaking up every incorrigible tale, on condition that my father who was an early sleeper would keep awake till the end of the story. The stories would continue well into the night with my sister prodding dad time and again to keep him awake till exasperated, he would shout at all of us to go to bed!!
We loved the days when we could cajole Tandan auntie to take us for a ride in her vintage car...we would eagerly scramble into the back with stools to sit on as the seats had long since vanished....and be ever ready to push the vehicle back home if it stalled on the road...


Those were the days when as teenagers we went to see movies when ever there was free time and we never missed a circus performance or a fair....
Rainy seasons were wonderful when we got drenched in the backyard and then were given tea with tulsi leaves to keep away the cold or ate hot roasted corncobs with salt and lemon.
During Dussehra festival we went to see the Ramlila for each of the ten days till Ravana was burned on the last day and all cheered the victory of good over evil. Diwali melas were fun and we shopped for lights crackers and sweets .
Winters were lovely too and we spent sunny Sunday mornings eating peanuts with green chillie chutney and had hot pakoras and tea at home in the afternoon or at some wayside stall after a stroll in the markets, window shopping.
Sometimes we would just sit in the newly started Mudrika buses which started from one point and ended at the same place after travelling on the cicular road bordering Delhi, watching the sights of the city and people coming and going...


How I long for those good old days....
Those days when we lived free from terror
The days when the threat of bombs had not invaded our lives...
The days when news of a bomb explosion in a bus or a market was unheard of...
The days when innocent lives were not snuffed by the unmindful actions of some fanatics out on a rampage....
The only bombing we heard of was during war times when the wail of sirens made us rush indoors till the all clear was sounded again....
When security checks and frisking were not part of our existence
The days when the airport staff did not look at an infants milk bottle with suspicion of being a potential safety hazard ...
When we went to quiet places and to crowded places ...
We traveled by road , train or air.....
But our eyes were never trying to identify objects which could blow us to pieces...

The days when we were safe....

So despite the progress brought about by science and technology, despite the comfortable lifestyle and fast means of transport and communications, the malls and multiplexes, television and computers and so much more that we have to thank for.....

I still long for the days that were!!!