There was this prince that I am yet to meet. I often dreamt of him when I was a kid. He drove the most magnificent horse you would have ever seen. Eyes of a hero, smile of a samurai and a personality of any happening Bollywood star. I always thought he would walk on earth, sit beside me and we can chat for long. The image of the prince took different shapes, depending upon my mood or whatever latest was happening around me. He was Sherlock Holmes for few days, then the popular Harry Potter and sometimes the Aaron Dallas of a not so popular book I was stuck to. I liked thinking about him, drawing pictures of him and discussing about these dreams with a good friend for sheer time pass. Then my friend would have something to share. She will express her desire to walk with Shahrukh or meet Salman over a moonlight dinner. None of these would ever happen. We knew it, but it was so much fun just talking over it. The prince of your life! In fact, you could discuss these only with your friends.
Life, in its long journey may not bring you the same prince but the moments of the day dream definitely bring in a smile to your face, isn’t it? Do kids today really get to day dream? In fact, are they innocent enough to sketch out life with a mystic figure that may not ever walk into their lives? A teenager I know always tells me to be practical. She dates the guy next door for a while and then the dude in her class. A week later, she is bored with both of them. There is so much practicality involved in the choices she makes. She doesn’t waste her time dreaming but practically experiences the moments of growing up by taking a very westernized and risky path. There are no adolescent fevers or growing up manias. Today’s kids are quite grown up much before they turn 13. Innocence is a rare phenomenon!
While growing up in the early 90’s, the fact I realized was kids of those days grew up in a society that was surrounded by many social taboos. There was restriction in almost everything and certain rules were strictly followed. Rules that decided what can be spoken to your parents and what should essentially be shared with teachers. A society like that offered only Doordarshan (DD) for entertainment and ‘The Hindu’ for knowledge. There were plenty of outdoor and indoor games that you could look up to. Westernization was only nearing and the society was still innocent with lesser access to media and stronger reasons to stick to old values. A society with taboos definitely had its disadvantages because kids today enjoy so much freedom which we had lacked. But, the society of rules raised more disciplined kids than what we find today. There were no feather- touch ipads to loose minds too, lesser consumption of video games and most important - no bugger or pizza that spoiled our stomachs. It is our grandmother’s food that we looked up to for a change and a visit to a nearby hotel would be cherished and remembered until we visit again.
There are still strong memories of my childhood that I cherish. When I share those stories with my daughter, I re-live those moments again. But what worries me is- will I be able to give such an action packed childhood to my kid? Will she be able to enjoy running pillar to post, just for fun? Or will she demand an apple product as soon as she turns 5? Will she continue to love my mother’s cooking or will she demand for a change? I can give her books, can take her out, and even try best to keep her away from the western world for a while. But, for how long? How long can I preserve the priceless innocence that I see in her?
One day she may just raise an alarm and scream for a change. That is when I will wonder, if change is really good. Rules shouldn’t be forgotten and ‘India’ should remain the India I had known. That will do a lot of good to parents of today.
