Childhood.zip

I am a very nostalgic person, as in the slight mention of familiar things say home food or even soppy things I watch on TV like father-daughter/son love can make me cry. I am over night journey away from HOME but I always long to go back there. I have been pampered silly by my parents even though I am the elder one, more so because they hardly see me(Well, once in like a month)

When we(sister and I)were kids,we were staying in an independent house(Now we stay in an apartment). Even though we were in Hyd for quite sometime by then, we weren't totally acquainted to the city. There weren't many neighbours. The only people we used to talk to were the landlord couple and since both wife and husband were working we hardly get to see them. This left us with more of what I call 'family time'. Back then, none of my cousins were staying in Hyderabad and we had very few relatives who used to live away far away fom our house.After we visit our grand parents during our vacation and were back in Hyderabad, I remember the house being full of half packed and half unpacked bags, smelling of pickles packed for us by our grand moms and sweet/savoury stuff prepared and carefully packed by aunts. Yet, there was a gloomy feeling all over, that feeling which will want you to travel back to a place where you have people you love all around you. Time passes by, our school re-opens and things fall in place.

The most vivid of my childhood memories consist predominantly of watching Doordarshan whole day long. There was a show every saturday night where they play most popular songs that week in a top down fashion. If I am not wrong it was called 'Ek se badkar ek'. The next morning after finishing off with customary Sunday dosa breakfast, sister and I would recollect all the 10 songs by singing them on top of pitch as if someone would arrest us if we don't do. Then, follows ever popular 'Moglie's show' and 'Chandrakantha' whose title tracks I can still sing. Here goes another Tv memory. I used to love watching a supposedly horror serial called 'Tekhikakat' so much that when protagonist of the show staged his death scene I fell in tears.(Silly me!)

I am still surprised how we could have had dinner at 7 watching DD news then. Poor mom, she would wait for dad till late in the night when her girls were fast asleep. Weekend was much awaited time then too. Though weekend was half day off on Saturday and a full day off on sunday, it still was a good thing. Saturday evening was so special for us girls. My dad who was against frizzy drinks(He still is BTW)would treat us to gold spot(it is no longer available,sigh!)on that particular day. Why Saturday? no reason. We had to give those glass bottles back the next day by the way. No pet bottles then :) That makes me feel old, really old! Did I tell you my dad loved Li'l hearts :D Yes he did. He would lovingly give them through bus window when we were off to grand parents place for Summer/Winter holidays(In reality Pongal holidays). Thank god, li'l hearts are still available .The onlytime DD plays an Telugu movie is Sunday afternoon. How I miss those evening shows which were associated with mom and dad having tea and allowing us to have a sip or two from theirs.

Anybody who stayed in Hyderabad for however short duration during Jan-Feb time, in the 90s especially,wouldn't have misssed The Exhibiton. Yes, I don't know it's name except for it was called exhibition which was held in huge Nampally grounds. I haven't gone in like 10 years now. Still, I can 't forget the maddening crowd and the memorable things there. We as kids were charged up at the very sight of barbie kitchen sets, long and colorful pencils with clowns head at one end, soap bubbles dabba and FOOD. I dreaded the giant wheel though and once fell sick after getting on that. The chaat/mirchi bhajji and sugar/cotton candy however unhygenic, was a treat to us. The next day we would wake up all excited to open up and explore the stuff we bought the previous day.

Like I said sister and I didn't have many friends around and we used to play with each other most of the time or pull in mom whenever possible. We used to watch the construction workers on all sides of my house cooking, eating, talking and it seemed like a miniature world for us. Though it sounds hilarious now, it was so much fun then when one of us acts like we were riding dad's scooter and the other makes sounds like 'durr duurrrr'. It also reminds me that I bullied my sister then. Hey, I am the elder one, were I not supposed to act like one.

It sounds foolish to confine one's best 10-12 years of life into few hundred words' post. For me Old cinthol, Complan and chitrahaar of Doordharshan are things of past. They'd remain with me,safe and sound and definitely sweet.