Woh Kagaz ki Kashti !!!!!

Hey guys…..an old post but with a lot more relevance today...

This post is dedicated to the ever-so – wonderful childhood days which all of us would want to revisit. I am an avid fan of Jagjit Singh’s Ghazals and one of his soul rendering  ghazal is the inspiration for this post –

We are all into our mid – twenties struggling to strengthen our footholds into our respective careers. Life has become a race and all of us are driving ourselves to unknown and unconquered destinations. In this maddening quest of Minting Money and climbing the socio – success ladder, we have conveniently forgotten the very basic necessities of Human Soul – ‘Inner Peace, Sanctity and Honesty ‘.

When was the last time we have laughed our hearts out? When was the last time we did something honestly stupid and gave a damn to what the world thinks? When was the last time we cried because somebody else was not happy? When was the last time we were actually honest and pure in our actions not expecting any barter? - - Well the answer to these questions drags me back to our childhood days. Innocent souls, Honest Intentions, Carefree attitude, Sneaking happiness in the smallest bit….

Lets recollect those wonderful days through this Ghazal sung by Late Jagjit Saab . . .

 Ye daulat bhii le lo, Ye shoharat bhi le lo

Bhale chhiin lo mujhase merii javaanii

Magar mujhko lauta do bachpan ka Saavan

Woh kaagaz kii kashtii, Woh baarish ka paani….

Most of us would have built paper boats and tried to run it down the smallest of streams that would have appeared in your society compound during the monsoon. The quest for your boat to survive through the rain, the feeling of accomplishment when it reaches its destination and the Diaspora of a heartache when the boat sinks in its journey are unparallel and unmatched ! Those were the days !!!!!

Mohalle ki sabse nishani puraani Woh budhiya jise bachche kehte the naani Woh naani ki baaton mein pariyon ka dera Woh chehre ki jhuriyon mein sadiyon ka pheraa Bhulaye nahin bhool sakta hai koi Woh choti si raaten Woh lambi kahani…..

Most of us, if not all would have had a Mami, Nani, Mausi, Aatya, Dadi, Aunty etc. in our family or our society or at a friend’s place who would be our agony aunt, guiding angel, friend, philosopher and quite often our biggest confidant . We all grew up listening to their real life experiences and stories which at that age seem to be out of this world – Magical to be precise. Her handmade food suddenly became the best delicacy in town and she more than often ended up being our savior when dad had a bad mood ! We secretly adored her when she would scold our parents for thrashing us and unknowingly she was the only one who knew about our first crush, biggest weakness, happiest moment, best-est friend and biggest worries ! All in all – She was the only person at whose place we could willingly be when parents used to go out leaving us behind and we would not care to shed a tear !!!! Those were the days !!!!!

Kadi dhoop mein apne ghar se nikalna Who chidiyaa Woh bulbul Woh titlii pakadna Woh gudiyaa ki shaadii mein ladnaa jhagadnaa Woh jhoolon se girnaa Woh gir ke sambhalnaa Woh piital ke chhallon ke pyaare se tohafe Woh tootii hui choodiyon ki nishaanii

Getting out of our homes the moment a friend calls your name. Armed with our Cricket kits, passion running down our veins, playing our strengths out in sun and rain, in fun and pain. No matter how much our mummies yell or our daddies threaten, life with friends was the only life we wished to live. Milk  and water were delivered to our playing arenas with mommies’ occasional checks about our well being. Lunch used to be a disturbance and again we were at someone’s place playing cards, Carom, WWE cards, UNO, Business, Monopoly and what not. Evenings were mostly spent in hide and seeks aka Thappo, Dabba ice spice, Sankli, Langdi and in worst scenarios – Colour – Colour…Dinner was often accompanied by our favourite tele series such Hum Paanch,Campus,Superhit Muqabla, Dekh Bhai Dekh,etc etc..not to forget VICI of Small Wonder to start off our day and when Uncle Scrooge (of the duck tale fame) was much more talked about than today’s Warren Buffet . The pain of going home for a nap was shortlived with the enthusiasm of next days’ plan….And sleep was often sweetened with the day’s fondest memories of a great catch or a brilliant wicket or couple of boundaries which were encouraged by your buddies (Their opinion mattered much more than that of today’s Bhogles and Shastris). A careless life and a honest hard day work….isnt it? Those were the days !!!!!

Kabhi ret ke unche tiilon pe jaana Gharaunde banana banaake mitana Woh maasoom chahat ki tasvir apni Woh kwabon khayalon ki jaagir apni Na duniyaa ka gam tha na rishton ke bandhan

 Badi khoobsurat thi Woh zindagani….

The biggest dare devilry of our childhood – Going out with our friends anywhere outside the diameter of a kilometer from our houses ! Carefully calculating the amount of money we carried, also the amount of money spent. I remember going to Crossroads from Mulund was once considered an utmost act of bravery !!!!! We all have been to the Chow patty and build Sand Castles and made sure they were there forever…We have all written our names in the sand and felt we will be immortal… We have all had childhood crushes on our siblings’ friends, teachers, brightest student of the class, head boy/head girl, family friend and so on and so forth….perhaps only to last for about a quarter of an year, a month or sometimes even hours ! There would also be few emotional nights perhaps after a trashing from Dad or a bad report card, where we would have sat with our friends and planned to achieve great heights in life….planning to be world’s most famous personality, an architect, a doctor, an MBA, a civil servant, an entrepreneur, dot dot dot……How and Why were never discussed !!!!!!!!!

And now when we are ‘Being here, Doing it’…..life seems so full of complexities, pressures, unwanted dramas, responsibilities, hyper tensions, relationships, careers, social commitments, this and that,….all those moments somehow seem to be disappeared, lost and almost extinct from our memories… And then when we meet our long lost childhood buddy who loved us for ‘what we are and not for what have become’…..life suddenly recaps itself….Back to the glorious moments and we surprisingly remember every joke, every prank, every stupid deed committed and with watered eyes we secretly wish to go back to those lovely Good Old days………….

where - - - -

Na duniyaa ka gam tha na rishton ke bandhan.... Badi khoobsurat thi Woh zindagani…

 Indeed Those were the Days !!!!!!!