Born in the 80s, and growing up in the 90s, I can't help feeling that I and all the people from this generation could enjoy some of the best times of life.
When I think about the 90s, what prominently features in my mind, is the time I
spent with friends. Friends in my building, friends at school, friends in
classes... I believe they were a good influence on me in my childhood and
teenage.
Today, my kid and his team of friends often complain that they are 'bored'. I
look at the cycles in the basement, I think about the zillion board-games that
each of these kids has in their home, I think about YouTube Kids (That doesn't
matter, actually. I end up being the one watching YouTube Kids while my kid and
his friends want to watch reviews of Minecraft and other such complicated games
by Youtubers who look like kids themselves!). I think about the many things that
they have at their disposal and wonder how can they be 'bored'!?
As a kid, I don't remember feeling bored ever. Now that I look back, I find
that there was always some friend or sibling with me, most of the times. If
there were only two of us any day, we would sit on the bench at the entrance of
our building and spend time either in conversation or in silence. Both were
productive! Sometimes I would find myself alone, and I would sit on the
bench and count the number of autos passing by. Or I would read. There were too
many things to do and never an excuse to feel 'bored'.
There weren't many 'complexes' in those days. There were just buildings with or
without compounds. If there was a compound, it didn't matter whether it was big
or small; we played, no matter what. We rode cycles in the narrow compound,
managed to play catch-n-run, hide-n-seek, hopscotch, dog-n-the-bone and many
such games. Many of our friends belonged to other buildings in the lane that
didn't have compounds. Everyone was welcome and everyone was wholeheartedly accepted.
During vacations, we would play a lot in the morning and afternoon and would
get really tired in the evening. So evening became a time of quiet contemplation
with friends at the terrace. The best memories are of those breezy evenings
spent lying on the terrace with friends and watching a starry sky. The
constellation Great Bear quickly turned into a favourite.
My friends dominate most of my childhood memories. But the times spent with my
family are precious. Going to the native place in every vacation was mandatory.
It always made me and my siblings happy to see a relaxed and lighter side of my
dad who would otherwise be strict and reserved usually. During the train
journeys, my parents turned from people with huge family and responsibilities
to just people having some fun.
It was in the 90s that my first and only tryst with a library began. The
library was named Friends Library and I found heaven there. Very near to the
library, there was a bakery from which the delicious aroma of baking often
wafted whenever I was browsing through the books. This experience is something that I cannot express in words! The library had a wonderful
collection of books and I took my own time to pick one for the day.
Little
did the librarian know what he had signed up for when he enrolled my name. I
would take a book in the morning and return it in the evening on the same day and
then the book which I took in the evening, I would return it next morning! The librarian
once asked jokingly whether I actually read the books. I hope my blank stare
gave him the right answer. I continued my membership for two years during which I read
most of the books in the library, excepting for the ones with the horror genre.
I still cannot read or watch this genre! I had to discontinue the membership
when my sessions for 12th standard began. That was my only tryst
with the library. Once I started working, I started my own mini-library in my
home, much to the chagrin of my parents who had to empty an entire cupboard to
make room for my books!
Ah, Nostalgic Nineties, you were the time when we all lived life to the
fullest! We studied, we played, we spent time equally with friends and family,
and we always had the time and the chance to stop and smell the roses. There
was time to do a lot and there was also time to do nothing and just be in the
moment, without feeling ‘bored’.
A
beautiful time of life went by with the passage of the 90s and has left only
precious memories in its wake!
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