When Apple and Blackberry were just fruits

Do you remember the time when dad used to come home from office in the evenings?
You had mixed emotions. A little scared because he found you were still playing with the local kids, rolling in the mud, throwing dust all around you. A little excited because you were eager to find out if daddy has brought the new Hot-Wheels car that you so very badly wanted, and had reminded him a thousand times the previous night, with just a nod of the head from daddy to show that he had at least heard you, and might consider your proposal. You are called by daddy to quickly get into the backyard of the house, clean yourself, and only then step into the house. You ask him about your Hot-Wheels, but he firmly tells you to wash up first, and ask questions later.

Do you remember the time you excitedly used to wait for the exams to get over, counting each day as it passes by in the calendar, so that you can go to your grandparents’ place for a long and exciting vacation? Oh, the excitement , it knew no bounds when you used to see the old and smiling faces of your grandparents, the moment you had stepped out of that car or bus after a long, dusty and tiring journey. You had a whole month to yourself to roam about with Ramu and the other local village kids. How you used to admire those kids for their bravery and sense of adventure. They always seemed to know new ways to hunt for birds, trap snakes and catch fish. Playing cricket and football in the fields, with a few adults and young boys of the village also joining in was such fun. Running around the woods early in the morning was an adventure lifted directly from Famous Five. Having dinner in the dark with only a candle to show you what you were eating. And then the whole family used to sit outside in the courtyard, in the dark, discussing local politics and family matters, and boring you and the other kids to sleep.

Remember the time when mommy used to make hot chocolate cakes, pakodas, and yummy khichdi during those cold rainy days, when you couldn’t go out to play, and had to bear playing with your younger brother or sister, leading to lots of arguments and fights; creating so much noise that in the end mommy had to come out of the kitchen, and along with daddy, had to literally carry both of you apart from each other, to prevent you from killing each other?

Remember the time when you used to sneak out of the backdoor during those lazy Sunday afternoons, after lunch, even though mommy had asked you to take rest and sleep a little while. And then playing chor-police with the local kids, until mommy woke up and realized you had escaped.

Do you still remember the time when you were punished at school for not doing your homework, and had to kneel down outside the class. The terror of being seen by your younger sibling who unfortunately studied in the same school. How you used to curse the teacher who had punished you even though you had tried explaining how your dog had snatched away your homework copy and tore it apart.

And the time when you used to do something wrong, like make your younger sister cry, and then having to hide under the bed for endless hours? How you used to be scared, the blood gushing to your head, your legs got numb, and spiders crawling all around you. But you still somehow could hide under the bed for hours. Maybe the scare of angry mommy was fiercer than the fear of spiders and the numbing pain in your legs.


Not much of all these incidents will ever come to our mind now.

Where do we have the time to reflect on those memories? Those useless memories do us no good. After all why would anyone want to remember the times when you used to get scolding from dad every evening, or had to spend months at the village without your favourite MTV shows, or Star Movies and HBO?

Tell me why anyone would like to remember those times when you had to get scolding from daddy for something your younger sister had done wrong? Why try and remember those boring afternoons when you didn’t have a mobile phone with you to forward SMS to your friends, or chat with your girlfriends before sleeping?

And the times when you were punished? Those are definitely not the time one normally likes to remember. And surely not the times when you had to hide under the bed to escape mommy’s wrath!

Yeah, times have definitely changed for the better. Now you can watch your favourite shows anytime, anywhere. You don’t even have to visit your grandparents’ village every year; you can just call them on their cell phones to let them know that you remember them. And you need not go out and play in the sun too; you can play video games in the comfort of your home now. And definitely no punishments from your teacher now; although I wonder why a mere scolding does from your boss seems even more embarrassing to you now.

I am still searching for those answers. Heaven knows if they even have answers!

But one thing is for sure. Life was much simpler and easier when Apple and Blackberry were considered just fruits.