My eleven year old grandson who is a Bright Side on You tube fan, agog with excitement called me the other day, ”Grandpa do you know that in near future 3d printers would print food, phones would be like mini tablets, virtual screens would be an in thing, flying cars would be new era innovations, humans would colonize other planets and human life span could go up to 400 years!”
Children these days are far advanced in their knowledge of latest inventions, means of communication and have an array of modes to learn from as the World Wide Web (WWW) has literally made sky to be limitless.
As a septuagenarian, it amuses me no end to listen my grandkids tell me tall tales on how the future will be super advanced, automated and expansive.
Tables have truly been turned on me as they have far interesting things to know about than my stories of Birbal, Shaikhchilli or Vikram and Betal.
They play far complex digital games, create castles out of miniature Lego bricks and are able to put together a thousand-piece puzzle without any adult supervision, it is awe inspiring indeed.
With no attendance in physical school for the past two years due to the pandemic these children have been pushed even more towards technical ways of learning, unable to meet in person their friends and social circle, however their speed of adaptability is worth mention unlike any of our generation.
Oftentimes I reminisce of my own childhood, the thrill in watching the street juggler perform near our house when one rupee coin would disappear from his palm and the marbles kept in the small round boxes would vanish without touch and later all the marbles would be found together conferencing in one box .
What a poignant narration of the magician it used to be when a jamura ( poor guy) stabbed to death with blood oozing out and then to the onlookers relief the guy would be brought back to life.
We would go running out in the street every time we heard the ‘damru’ of the neighbourhood madari and tantrums of the she monkey when she would refuse to go with her male partner to her in –laws and the madari would show her the mirror to say how pretty she was and only after repeated cajoling would she agree to go with her lover.
Nail biting balancing act by a ‘nat’ girl on a tight rope, waiting for climax of the bloody fight between snake and mongoose, snakes with open hoods dancing around the ‘been’ and a performing bear were the much-awaited means of entertainment for us .
Bioscopewallah would show us the marvels from Taj Mahal to Qutub Minar and what not.
With advancement in societal norms and animal welfare what seemed harmless amusements to us as children is no longer in vogue.
Routine visits of ‘kalaiwala’ or utensil cleaner in our streets to brighten the kitchen utensils and listening to the hissing sound produced in the course due to reaction of the chemical with water was what a delight.
Come winter heaps of cotton softened by a cotton carder ‘Dhunia’ would be re-filled in warm handmade quilts, fire sparks from a knives and scissor sharpener on a bicycle and a water carrier ( bhisti) sprinkling the roads with masaq ( leather bag), a lamp post man lighting the lamps in the evening, the pop corns popping up from the ‘Kadhai’ of highly heated sand by grain parcher (‘Bhadbujan’), hot chapattis being baked in clay oven on the street corner by a lady for one paisa each are few of the warm memories from my childhood which this generation will never witness.
The joy of flying kites, playing marbles, spinning tops, pithu gram, guli-danda are all games of the past which have now been replaced by online games which the kids can play with anyone around the globe.
It is indeed nostalgic to reflect on the transition of life during the last 70 years which in reality is a march from one generation to the next.
Nice . We had forgotten Kalaiwalas , Dhunia etc..
Very well written