Old Forgotten Lanes
With more society/apartment culture peeping in… (which no doubt I vouch for any day)…. there are a few things I miss…
S’s holidays were on… so I thought to make a visit to his granny’s place… who stays in an independent house… few things grabbed my attention…
Balloon seller crossed by…..whistling his paper whistles while crossing each of the lanes… and for a moment I thought… ahhh S would run for it…. but he did not notice/ pay attention to his movement… as he hasn’t seen it much apart from his friend’s birthday parties.
Also…. the popcorn seller who pops the corn kernels/peanuts/chickpeas in front of you in his large deep pan in sand (and the aroma it brings)… As he arrives, he bangs his big knife on his big pan to catch-hold your attention… making sounds ‘tan tan tan’… you have choice for your ears or your nose to react first…
Then at times, jhoolawala dragging micro version of giant wheel to lure kids for joyride at their doorstep. I remember how we used to plead for one rupee coin daily for this ride and how many games we invented sitting within our swing seat (don’t you believe… eg: leaving slipper on floor in first round… and picking it in next…and then another game is catching things across our swing seats…)… And demanding the vendor, “bhaiya..aur tez…aur tez…” as he is the one who swayed the swings.
And lastly what comes to my mind is the drool-worthy golawala (crushed ice lolly)… and the variety of colors one can choose to pour upon them….and the after effects of the colored flavoured tongues…
Not that you never sight these things… all these local vendors are still visible in fairs, in tent-based functions, and in local festivity markets, outside some schools… but kids waiting for these vendors daily on a particular time is something else. And with increasing apartment culture, more of gates communities, and our overprotective selves (which undoubtedly is the need of the hour)… these things are slowing fading away or drifting far from big cities to smaller towns.
I have grown up with these luxuries (for kids, truly they are) around, and I try to give it to S too whenever possible, be it for 4-5 days…and leave it for him to remember it for long to brag to his tiny friends or let it be a faded memory…
I’m sure you have your own tales of your childhood times, your special memories, items you bought from your piggy-bank …
I’m just a ear away…
Swati Jain is a mother of a 3-year-old and an Oracle consultant (computer engineer) for 7.5 years. She is a blogger by interest, happy by choice, observant and curious by nature. She loves simplicity and truth. Follow her blog at: http://khushiniwas.blogspot.