the age of innocence...

Today, while having lunch with my friends, we somehow came to the topic of childhood. Reminiscing about our own childhood, we realized how different life was for our parents, and how different it will be for the next generation....

Just imagine, how much has India changed in the last 15 years. We were the first generation to taste the fruits of Liberalisation. we saw the first shopping malls being set up, we saw the telecom revolution, we saw computers becoming household items, we saw Santro and Indica replacing the Premier Padmini and Maruti 800, we saw the first Pizza Huts and Mc Donalds...

But, still, our early childhood was quite insulated from consumerism. Growing up in a mumbai suburb, i can not remember when branded clothes or expensive watches were a matter of honour among us. We didn't spend hours gelling our hair in the right shape, we didn't use tweleve kinds of moisturising lotions and revitalising bath salts, we were too busy playing gully cricket to notice that one of us din't have a doll house full of barbies or the newest Hot Wheels....

I find it very weird when i see little kids cussing as though it is cool, wearing nothing but branded stuff. I feel bad when i see them playing football with the remote control of a PS 2 instead of their feet. I remember, in Muscat, there were hardly any ten year olds who didn't have glasses. Because most mothers these days work, children are left with illiterate 'ayahs' who prefer letting the chota baba play on the computer than have him bothering her. On top of this, because of being the only child, parents usually give in to all his demands to make up for their guilt of not spending enough time with them. Rapid real estate development has resulted in playgrounds being converted to saleable land. And with the increased threats of acidents on the busy roads, kids are forced to play inside the houses. As a result, kids find it easier to make friends on Orkut than face to face.

Some days ago, i had to buy a birthday gift for a cousin who was turning five. my mother and i got so confused, it was impossible to decide what he would appreciate...
"let us get him a remote control car"
"no he already got one of those from his uncle in the USA."
"then let us getting him a picture book"
"haha, picture book, very funny, haha"

After hours of discussions, we bought him a battery operated model of Pluto, the doggie. Like everyone else, i just wanted him to like it. After the party was over, i'd stayed back for cleaning up with my aunt, as my uncle dropped the kids to their places. When we came to my cousin's room, what we saw had us amazed... he was playing with an empty box, turning it on all the sides, trying to fit the flaps in, with a look of deep amusement ... We looked at each other, smiled, and let him continue his exploration. "Thankfully," i sighed, "kids will be kids."