Then and Now...(Nostalgia unlimited)

Out of the most vivid childhood memories that I have are those associated with my grandfather's house. It is a matter of chance that I am the youngest of all cousins. In fact, the age difference between my cousins and me is so much that their children are my age. And am just so glad that for that :)

Going back to my childhood days, all family weddings used to happen at my grandfather’s house. The big bungalow had two floors. While most of the functions would happen on the ground and first floors, the second floor used to be the territory of us kids.

Walking up the stairs to the second floor led to a big hall. I distinctly remember that the hall used to be full of ‘mattresses’ and ‘daris’ to make sleeping arrangements for the loads of relatives who had flown in from different cities. Our gang used to comprise of Neha, Manu, Varun, me, Bobby and Shray; Bobby being the most notorious of all. Neha being the eldest, always used to despise Bobby for his mischievous ways. She even slapped him once when the fight got nasty. I loved them all.

A brief introduction about them – Neha, my cousin sister’s daughter and two years elder to me; Manu, my Bua’s son; Varun, my cousin didi’s son; Shray and Bobby, my cousin brothers’ son. Neha would be brought in from Ranchi, Varun from Dehradun; Shray from Bangalore and Bobby from Moradabad. Manu and I were the only ones from Delhi. Neha was the eldest followed by Manu, then me, Varun, Bobby and Shray – in that order.

So all of us would get together on these family occasions, lock ourselves up on the second floor hall of B-1/A 280, Janak Puri, New Delhi and have a playful time. Jumping on the floor from a mattress three-inch high used to feel like such an accomplishment. Equally adventurous were the pillow fights – that all of us so clearly remember till date – almost 19 years later. Those used to be such fun days.

Today, Neha is an Auditor, Manu – an event manager, me –a journo, Varun – a consultant and Shray and Bobby – pursuing studies. We have come a long way. More than eight years in New Zealand has made Neha forget her own accent; spending most of his time with rock bands has made Manu look more like a cross between a Don and a drug addict; Varun’s four-plus years of stay in Singapore has made him look at every development in India with wonder; Bobby has sobered down in life – thanks to the sweet girl he is dating and Shray in Dubai trying to prove himself in this big world (and mostly sleeping). Me, I guess any of these guys can tell better.

But what binds all of us till today are – the memories of those early days.

Shray, me, Varun, Manu

For some strange reason Neha's pic refused to show up in the collage and I didn't have Bobby's


----by Varun-----

Whatever Ruchi has written is very true. All what binds all of us till today are – the memories of those early days. And that makes much more sense when all of us are miles apart, jobs apart and lifestyles apart. But thanks to Yahoo!, and calling cards - keeping in touch has become a lot easier that it was earlier.

Take it all with a pinch of salt :)

I am not a TV freak. The only shows I used to consume till a few years back were music shows and contests, Saregama specially. However, recently such shows multiplied and then there were so many of them that I got confused and gave up watching them completely. This one particular show Nach Baliye (where celebrity couples come on stage and perform a dance) did seem exciting to me but somehow I never got enough time to watch it regularly. Today, while the third season of Nach Baliye is on, I sat down to watch it, start to finish. To begin with, the anchor in his welcome note cum marketing pitch came up with this grammatically incorrect sentence "Welcome to Garnier presents Nach Baliye"!!! I mean, give us a break. I mean agreed that you cannot overloo the sponsor but then sponsor can be separately acknowledged no? Moving on, there was a foreigner participant in the show as well. Now the anchor ends up asking that guy a question in Hindi. The question was the regular "kaisa lag raha hai apko" that the Indian broadcast media is so fond of. But that's not what was revealing as what happened next. This foreigner participant came up with some answer in English. I don't even remember what he answered as I just amazed at how gimmicky these shows have become. I mean, what was it if not a script explained to the guy before he came on camera? The complete show is full of gimmicks. People cry, abuse each other, get emotional, angry - basically anything that will give the show an emotional touch and hence will become sellable to the audience. This isn't the only show but most of the contest shows are like that. Aren't we somewhere at fault as an audience that buy these things thrown at us. We like drama and that's what's given to us. But I am sure there are a few who do wonder if what they are watching is real or a gimmick. Being a part of the media, all I can say is, as a reader and as a viewer, don't buy all ideas. Whatever you see or read or hear, take it all with a pinch of salt :)