LONG FORGOTTEN

Of all the days I miss, I miss my childhood the most. It was the world of fantasy, mixed with reality. It was when innocence and cuteness comprised the whole world…

It was……

When cartoons were the favorite television shows… When there was belief that Santa Clause exists and Spiderman can be created…When aliens meant the only thing that struck awe and fear when the outer space was considered… When life revolved around Granny’s lap and sleep was invited only by her tales…When Dad was the only hero apart from Baloo, Aladdin, Shaktimaan, etc. When Mom did strike fear in the heart whenever I misbehaved and Granny was the only rescue (since Dad went to work)…

When everybody made me feel the smallest in the family and I regretted of not having a younger sibling… Also when everyone coaxed and adored me whenever I went on a hunger strike…

When school was all about going to see friends… When cricket did find a place and meaning in life… When the cricket ball was a threat to the neighborhood and often did lead us to trouble… When chuwa-chui, luka-churi and kit-kit were the favorite games apart from cricket… When friendship oozed out from hearts the day after a fight…When preparations would begin months before Durga Puja and the new bought dresses were tried morning evening every day…When having a grand party just meant having samosas with fanta…When the mind was filled with guilt and remorse even if “a-be” slipped out of the tongue subconsciously.

Then a little later childhood is a period when there was a belief that everybody is equal and that the society actually wants to bridge all types of social differences, between men and women, among religions, among castes, etc. When friends supported the view said dowry system is an evil and they would never be a part of it…When friends also said that cigarette, alcohol and drugs are bad and that they would never imbibe them in their lives…

The world around has changed my pal. People have grown up. Small children symbolic of God’s reflection have grown into shades of the devil Satan. Even I have changed. I have gained a few inches and even fewer kilos. But the basic principles have remained intact. While most others have lost their ideologies somewhere far behind, justifying it in the name of practicality, I have not. I still hold the same clear perception with the same benchmarks to differentiate between the good and the bad. So it is not myself that I miss but the people who were with me then, but who  have changed now, towards themselves. But the bottom line is this: where is the innocent kid inside, gone?