As Kids 
I have never climbed a tree
I have never picked berries
I have never chased frogs with a stick
I have never sat under a clear sky counting stars
I have never played with marbles
I have never spent my vacations on Carrom
We never visited all our neighbors during Dusshera or Diwali
Kite flying if at all lasted for a few hours, not months of preparation of the mancha for kite tournaments
I don’t know the folk songs that my mum knows
I have no idea about the ragas supposed to be in a song
I m clueless about most of the rituals and prayers at most festivals and their importance
I m clueless about knitting, embroidery etc. It’s too painstaking anyways.
I don’t think I’ll ever make the Diwali feast with mums diligence takes. Buying is easier.
It’s too hot to play outside. I can play simulated cricket on my computer that’s almost real!
Want a unique solution? Who has the time to think? Google it!
Are today’s urban life and its evils taking away the traditions and culture that India is so proud of? Will the simple joys of the yesteryears totally disappear in the next generation? Honestly, are the rites and rituals that have been performed for several hundred years be reduced to a shadow of what they actually were and then finally disappear forever? Celebrations of festivals u tell me are grand, ah, yes, they are certainly getting grander, not in terms of the elaborate rites that have to be performed. It’s only the moolah spent on the Diwali parties and Ganapati processions that is escalating, God usually just happens to be there alongside. We no longer have the time or have the motivation to do anything on our own without the aid of a hundred gadgets or tools such as Google which have quashed our ability to think.
It’s sad, but it's the inevitable truth, that change is the only constant in life.
i so agree with you. we have forgotten what the good ol days were like. i remember we had this set of encyclopedias at home. mom had bought it for 30000. thats a lot of money considering we get the same and maybe more for free!
ReplyDeletetechnology and times have changed. but at times i feel we need to accept the imminent, and take it in our stride. at the same time we must not look for replacments for everything.
things like cricket is best played on the ground. end of discussion!
Super, this looks exactly like a part of the post that I wrote. Beautifully put. How I wish more parents read these things and did something about it!
ReplyDelete-PeAcE
--WiTh
---GuNs