Tuesday 17 February 2009

A thought to remember...

The International Monetary Fund yesterday issued a warning that record oil prices will stunt the growth of global economy next year….

“Post graduation in management studies would mean minimal investment of ten lacs. Can we afford it in times of recession?”

The state government’s decision to end the stamp duty amnesty scheme on February 15 led to considerable confusion among flat owners who….

“Let us assume that I obtain a degree in Mech. Not considering campus interviews and job opportunities, is it practical enough to opt for an MBA after that?”

…threat to boycott SSC/HSC exams if the state government does not clear salary sheets. Fully-aided schools…

“Your cousin sister is excelling in academics and is due to receive an offer letter from TCS this year. Well, she’s a nine pointer after all…”

Rewind: few years back
“…and don’t forget to carry your Tiffin-box. The least I expect is that you starve all day unnecessarily.” There is a single slice of toast left on the plate, half emptied glass of milk and bits of bread scattered on the ‘bearer-of-all’, our loyal furniture (table i.e.). You are half choked with a sickening combination of omelette and few gulps of milk. Prepare yourself for a single- warrior combat and get set to play the hero who gets defeated in the end! Mommy dearest will ensure that you are showered with the deadliest of whacking and an elevated spirit to be welcomed at school. You are taught very well to walk up a miles distance without relying on anybody; your back is embellished with a two kilo bag lazily slumped over your shoulders and a pair of dragging feet. Pretty much to your advantage, you have a half hour’s time to flush out your frustration.
Eating breakfast is such a waste of time! I am fed up of being stuffed with bread and milk every morning…That old school fellow..! He’s too full of himself; I will beat him in marbles today. Forget homework, I am yet to finish my class work. About the book that I am to submit today, I don’t remember keeping it in my bag….
Such events bear major importance within them, equivalent to a minister’s appointment with his fellow cabinet members, a celebrity interview with a news channel and a mid-life crisis. Every morning greets a play with a protagonist encompassed with petty jobs and too much load, the responsibility of fulfilling his/her parents expectations by religiously walking back and forth to school, completing homework assignments and attending to additional commitments that people often mistakenly address as ‘multi talent’. Amidst all the haunting tasks, the ‘star-kid’ speeds off to hit a couple of shots or pick up a ‘toy’ fight with neighbourhood tots. The joyride is not confined to concrete school grounds and brick red open spaces; there is constant chattering by the seas, getting defensive off the giant water bodies, munching on peanuts and feeding spicy red ‘pav bhaji’ gravy to already dirt smitten clothes. There are huge monuments and sky scrapers looking down upon the bearer of innocent eyes widened with wonder and excitement. Every moment of exhilaration is an outcome of- the right time to grab an ice cream, a race through wet streets washed away by the showers of first few drops of rain, a giant alien ‘toy’ loitering in the streets destroying thick ‘rubber snakes’ dug beneath the earth, our dear samosawala’s arrival and discount toy stalls set up at the neighbourhood grounds, to name a few. The carrier of such innocence and half knowledge is yet curious to know why, with a zillion things worthy of appreciation, is the world around him/her unhappy and tensed?
The protagonist is a toddler who appraises the gravity of any situation like we do, today as young adults or experienced elders. The innocent ‘five and something’ will grow up to evaluate every circumstance in a manner he/she is taught to, lest there should be a reason with enough pertinence for an exception. The basic difference lies in the changing degree of appraisal with passing time. In other words, what may have seemed to be challenging then is now a part of sweet memoirs of the past and is therefore, no longer a challenge. The innocence in procuring joy out of cute and cuddly events is swiped out with growing maturity. Once the burden of responsibilities is bestowed upon us gracefully by the older generation, we fail to gratify those moments which add up to our lives, our age and the individuality that develops over time; the little reasons that carved gradual smiles on our faces, the tearful ones and those that brought immense happiness even in times of grief.
As much as we wish to have those days of dashing bicycles and ‘galli’ cricket back in our lives, technically it is said to be an impossible dream. For all that God has left with us, let us live in harmony and spread happiness with this thought in mind: the privilege of living through childhood, the greatest of all gifts granted to mankind.