Woh Din kitne Yaad Aate Hain!

When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket ...
When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy),
chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime ...
When we desperately waited for 'yeh jo hai jindagi'
When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal,
dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling ....
When there was just one tv in every five houses and
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were
worrying if papas will get back into the train
in time or not
when they were getting down at stations
to fill up the water bottle ...
When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp
except for the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day ...
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly
hand-made pakwaans and sweets
and moms seeking our help while preparing them
When Maths teachers were not worried of
our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us ...
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and
chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes ...
When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved
flying kites and plucking and eating
unripe mangoes and leechis ...
When one movie every Sunday evening on television
was more than asked for
and 'ek do teen chaar' and 'Rajni' inspired us ...
When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees ...
When left over pages of the last years notebooks
were used for rough work or even fair work ...
When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged
against 'reynolds and family' ...
When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing
in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kishtis' ...
When there were no phones to tell friends that
we will be at their homes at six in the evening ...
When our parents always had 15 paise blue
colored 'antardesis' and 5 paise machli wale stamps at home
When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding
'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough
to stop us from laughing ...
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and
gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting
or allergic agents ...

the list can be endless ...

on the serious note I would like to summarise with ...
When we were using our hearts more than our brains,
even for scientifically brainy activities
like 'thinking' and 'deciding' ...
When we were crying and laughing more often,
more openly and more sincerily ...
When we were enjoying our present more
than worrying about our future ...
When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak
When sharing worries and happiness didnt mean
getting vulnerable to the listener ...
When blacks and whites were the favourite
colors instead of greys ...
When journeys also were important and not
just the destinations ....
When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time
and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open
and transparent glass windows instead of some
superfast's second ac with its curtained,
closed and dark windows ...

This was sent by my friend a couple of years back!