Bachchpan Ki Yaadein!!!

“Bachchpan”, the childhood days…
We all age and step into 7 different stages in our lifetime (as represented in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”); for most of us, the moments spent in our childhood (stage 2) is to be cherished the most and we want those days to come back.

So, this post (accompanied with some pics) is dedicated to some of my most cherished and cutest of the memories…

Those were the days when:
- We were carefree, innocent and playful.
- We cared about playing soccer more than job and money.
- We fought with our sisters / brothers for small things and then soon make up with them.
- We kept on running around the dining table chasing each other.
- We waited for our turns to get the next piece of food from Mom’s hand.

- We got lil pocket-money but still save something at the end of the month.
- We waited for our piggybank to get full and then spend the money for something big, repeating the cycle all over again.
- In Diwali days, we used to burst small crackers (Bijli bombs), all the time for a whole week.
- We used to go on bicycles in the rain, get drenched and enjoy the weather to the fullest.
- We created "hail palaces" during the hail-storms.

- We bravely (apparently) used to see the horror soaps and then get scared whole night.
- We used to get up early in the morning and jog just to get chocolates as the prize.
- We eagerly waited for summer holidays and a trip to Himachal or Naani’s (grandmother’s) place.
- We hated home-work but still had to complete it in order to go n play.
- We liked / respected some particular teacher and tried to impress him / her.
- We used to get ready early on Sundays to see cartoons on DD2.
- We wanted a joy ride everyday on dad’s vehicle before he goes for office.
- Ramayan, Chandrakanta, Byomkesh Bakshi, Chitrahaar were the favorite TV programs.
- Mom used to nicely get us ready for the school and by the time we come back, we were all dirty and bruised.
- We often had to rush to school to avoid the punishment by the P.T sir.
- We used to have these supposedly secret spots to hide while playing chupan chupai (Lukan meeti).
- We used to fly kites whole day on basant-panchami.

And the list goes on… Perhaps, we all want to go back in time and live that life yet again. But, there is no time-machine stuff; we have to move ahead. So, we need to live today to the fullest to cherish today's memories when we get older.

Bob Marleys' albums...

(I am listening to his songs while writing this stuff)

I found these albums in my friend's laptop and a strong emotion went through my mind...

I remembered the time when I used to listen to these songs without even understanding them. I had my own interpretations. My sister and me often hummed those songs and sometimes replaced the words with our own homegrown "Hindi" words and made it sound really funny. I must be around 6-7 then.

Those were my dad's favorite English albums. He had 2 cassettes which he used to play very often in his 2-in-1 stereo system. Those cassettes were really special to him and he took good care to protect them for being overwritten. You know the left hand recorders in the 2-in-1s... If we would have pressed the red button, those melodious songs would have been overwritten with our nonsense kids' talks.

I also remember the special covers of those cassettes. Those were different than hundreds of cassette covers in the collection. Thinner and made of bendable plastic and less brittle. On front, it contained Bob Marley's picture with his long hairs falling on his face. From his get-up on the pic, I used to imagine him as a rowdy guy singing anything with some good music behind him. At that time, I didn't know what kind of songs were those and how good a singer he was.

Today, when I am 26 years old and with these songs sung (played) again on my 4.1 speaker system and wikipedia a click away, I came to know that the album we, as kids, used to listen to is the "Best selling reggae album ever" (10 times platinum with more than 12 million copies sold).

Sometimes... these small memories are of a great significance to you and bring smiles on your face...