Childish Chilattas!

                  'Chillar Party' was being aired on TV the other day, and unlike other Bollywood kiddie flicks that turn out to be damp squibs, this one reached out to me. I think, more than the "save the neighbourhood dog" storyline that the film uses, it was the depiction of the childhood of every Mumbai kid that appealed to me the most. It made me feel even better about my own childhood.

                  I've had a fantastic childhood. I didn't think much of it then, but now, after hitting 20, I've realised that the best part of my childhood was, that it was ordinary, possibly the same childhood as that of every boy in this city. Of course, I also spent my years as a toddler in Delhi, and almost all of my Summer vacations in Puna, but I'd like to associate my childhood only with Suburban Mumbai, it cannot get any more run-of-the-mill than this.

                  I've had 2 wonderful parents, who've taught me everything a boy needs to know growing up, who scolded me for the right reasons, and rewarded me for the paltry successes I achieved. I haven't been as lucky as the other children when it came to grand-parental love, but my parents more than made up for this little deficiency.

                  I've also had more than a few aberrant experiences like getting locked up in a stadium with my brother and my friend, getting hit on the shoulder by a fully grown horse, getting my skull broken with a brick and so on. But what sets my childhood apart is its bland, platitudinous element. As ironic as the statement seems, it is comfortingly true.

5 year old me. Cute. I know.

                  The inter-colonial (RESIDENTIAL colony, I mean) rivalry, and playing cricket matches that fuelled the same, is no stranger to any of us. Childhood is a time when the word "playing" only means "playing", and nothing else. Even playing with street kids is nothing out of the blue then. Playing in the material used for building construction has its own fervour, albeit the skin-rashes that follow afterwards are not so welcome! Whilst playing with friendly stray dogs, Rabies and Ringworm seem only random words taught in school. Hell, even talking to pretty girls seems so easy then!

                  It is only when we grow up, that we start putting restrictions on ourselves. Knowing what is right and wrong is different, but the ego that we develop growing up, is the biggest threat we pose to ourselves. The saying "You are your own hurdle" holds true for most of us 'failures'. Children are the best. They learn as they grow up, good and bad things. It is always better to be someone who is constantly learning, than having pre-conceived notions that finally turns us into the person we never think we'll be.

                  As for me, whenever I get sick of my prisoner-like life in Puna, I think of the whale of a time that I enjoyed as a child, and yes, it makes me feel fortunate and makes me smile, albeit for a few moments. How can I not feel rejuvenated when I think of the time when no song could be written better than 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', when the 'six-packs' I'd developed after years of swimming seemed nothing but 'cuts' (until Shahrukh Khan finally glamourised them in 2007!), and when playing movie songs on my Synthesizer, albeit with one hand, seemed something ordinary, contrary to the relieving, self-praising feeling it gives me now.

                  Reliving our childhood memories can be painful for some of us, but for many of us "older kids", it is a reminder of the 'golden days' of our life, the carefree, tension-free days that we crave for so much now. What we do not realise, is we can still enjoy some of those 'moments' even now! Why is that mirth when we splash into a puddle on a rainy day (pun intended) and don't give a damn about how soiled our clothes get? What is that feeling we get when we open the fridge to find a tiny bar of chocolate that we relish as a midnight snack? The momentary joy we get when the stone we kick lands perfectly in our self-set 'goal'; rings a bell? It surely means something. Don't ever let the child in you grow up. Because if we could have such a great time in the past, who in the world can stop us from having the same in future?