Childhood longings

Thinking of the yesteryears of childhood makes one nostalgic. It is said that childhood days are the best part of one’s life. The innocence, the carefree, responsibility free life, gully cricket, Dabba aais-pais, lingorcha..the occasional fights, maybe tense then, bring a smile now :).

Remember your childhood longings, the things you wished would make you the happiest person on earth? Those like me who grew up in the 80s and 90s in middle class families would agree that having a telephone, a colour TV or a refrigerator then would take you financially ahead of most of your collaterals. We had a colour television, but I had a particular fascination towards a “remote control” :) I would be very excited whenever my elder cousin would allow me to operate the remote control of his television. There was a similar attraction towards remote controlled cars, I remember thanking my dad for many days when he bought me a remote controlled car (it was a Porsche :)) when I was about 8 or 9.

Speaking on telephone was another “great” thing to do. We had our first telephone in 1995 (which my dad had booked in 1991 :)) and I would run to receive the call every time the phone rang. Having spoken on telephone was an experience I would share with friends in school.

We lived in a chawl and I dreamt of living in a flat, that too a flat in a building that had an elevator :) When I was in school, everyday I would be the first to get down and run to call my Rickshaw buddy, as I would use an elevator to reach his house on 4th floor.

Having a bicycle was a wish I would do anything for. For me, even a bicycle then was something I would “possess” rather than just “own” ;) The BSA-SLRs and Hero Rangers mattered more to me than what the i10s and Swifts matter now. Car was an elite thing, and the surroundings made me realize that car was not our cup of tea. A childish mind would still long for a ride in a car, and there would be no limits to excitement when we would ride in my maternal uncle’s Maruti 800. The engine power, CC, small car, sedan were jargons, all that mattered was a “CAR”.

I belonged to a family where my parents would not unnecessarily spend money (and even teach their children to do so) on unhealthy manners. That made the smallest wish, when fulfilled, the greatest pleasure of life. Having a “Malai Kulfi” was one such pleasure I would cherish on a rare day when my mom would be kind enough to offer me a rupee to spend it the way I would like to :).
Smoking a cigarette was a MAN thing (thanks to Bollywood) and it had me wait whole of my childhood, even my teenage to try one. I was 23 when I inhaled burning tobacco the first time, reaching my lungs and smoking out… it was my first experience of something I considered masculine all these years :).

One thing worth noting and which we eventually realize is- wishes never end. One fulfilled wish gives birth to another, “longings” become “possible realities” and we start working towards fulfilling them. As the age grows, so do the wishes- in the same proportion, although much more matured than before, they still remain our “longings”.

Kattyavarchya Gappa (Leisure Chit-Chat)

The other day I was having a nice time with a handful of good friends at Bal Gandharv (our regular katta). We had met after a while, and as usual SS was late (I believe she always follows the right time, but misses the right time zone..). HK, OK and I were having the regular boyish talk when BA joined. The regular “Kasa Ahes”, “Kuthe Ahes”, “Persistent kadhi join kelis??” , “Me job sodla, kantalle” etc. followed suit.

It was BA who actually started the topic, unknowingly when she mentioned she had cleared her second paper of “Jyotish Shastra”. Then began the discussion, we now had a fodder to feed us at least for a couple of hours. We had BA, who is into Astrology, and we had HK, who is into Astronomy. OK and I were pretty excited to get our kundalis read by BA; thanks to HK’s mobile astronomy software, we immediately had the positions of stars, planets, zodiac and what not on a small piece of paper.

“Shani chi dasha vakra aahe”, “Mangal varchya gharat aahe”..BA began…”Aga samjel asha bhashet bol…paisa kiti aahe???”- OK said, making his interests clear :-). “Ahe bharpur, pan baki pan aik na..sarkha kay paise..” BA was quick to reply.
While OK was having fun knowing his future, HK was getting the celestial positions during my birth time on a rough chit of paper. “Are tuzi patrika mast aahe…Shani ani Mangal doghehi varchya gharat aahet…Shanichi krupa aahe..” I felt excited :), still wanted our astrologer to comment. It was then that my right hand started itching when she said- “Near future madhe bharpur paise milnaar ahet..” ;). “Aga pan Rashit Mangal aahe...mhantat na changla nasto” I said getting things clearer about these matters which may be of help in near future for obvious reasons :). “Aahe pan varchya gharat, so don’t worry- Kalyankari asto”- BA’s reply.

Meanwhile SS arrived, although my watch said 8 pm, she was at the right time- 6:30 pm (No matter if it was 6:30 in Dubai then..who cares??). SS has something to discuss on everything, and that means- everything. Do you really believe in astrology, how far can it be true, is it reliable, what is the basis? OK had begun “discussing” the matter. HK, as always, was playing safe- “Whatever I say is based on astronomy- I only speak of the celestial positions at the birth time…its interpretation may differ from astrologer to astrologer, and astronomy has a scientific base.”, I agreed. “Whatever normal astrologers say is based on ‘Statistical data’”, and then we had to hear HK say “Statistical data” at least 10 times in the next 30 minutes :-). “But science itself to an extent is based on hypothesis”- aamchya SS was quick in posting a comment that required no moderation.

This discussion was getting juicier with additions from everyone. From regular hear-say to genuine experience, from Nostradamus to Narendra Dabholkar (Andhashradhha Nirmulan Samiti)- we had a comment on everything. OK went on- “There’s nothing called Luck- the harder we work, the luckier we get”..this time it was me to reply “Agreed, but why were you and I not born to some Bachhans or Kapoors, what hard work did Abhishek Bachchan do to be born with a silver spoon?” unlike the trend, we had a question for every answer :).

“Abhishek was born under the influence of certain heavenly bodies who had some silver spoons ready, this is as per ‘Statistical Data’”- SS cha Puneri chimta.

It was sheer fun and some info as well. But on a serious note- do you believe in Astrology? Do you think positions of heavenly bodies can influence our lives? Do you think good deeds of present life act as good investments to reap benefits in the next life?

For me personally, it is a thing I do not believe, maybe I never will, but a recent experience was shocking (whatever experience I had was not something one can ignore or deny). More so now- I want to believe on the correct interpretation of these celestial positions (if at all astrology is purely based on it) but I don’t want to make it a base to my future decisions in the farthest way. I do believe in reincarnation, and maybe my good deeds in past life have resulted in a good life for me this time…where I have such great friends ;).