There and back again

Good evening everyone. Today we are going to undertake a journey back to the 20^th century, a 100 years back in time, when our parents were of our age and smaller. Back then, things and times were much simpler than they are now. Now, how would someone living in the 20^th century describe his/her day, particularly if he/she was a teenager or young adult like us?

 Well, if it were a working day for them, meaning college or school, then in that case, most of their day would be taken up by their school college, with them returning by 5 pm(on an average). It would be followed by some evening snacks, some amount of rest, then some amount of physical activity, be it only a few rounds spent walking or jogging or by jumping using the skipping rope etc.

 Thus physically sated, they would come home, freshen up, offer prayers to the Almighty and sit down to tackle the various texts on the subjects taught at school or college and sit at their study table for about 3-4 hours, until their mother summoned them for dinner which would be undertaken with complete, disciplined silence with their focus solely on their food, with the silence only broken by the questions asked by their parents with respect to their educational institutes. Dinner would be followed by an hour or half of leisure in which they would indulge themselves by reading, looking at the stars and admiring the beauty of their landscape or simply practicing some meditation (calm breathing in and breathing out). Then they would ultimately fall asleep, with their minds and hearts calm.

Now, if it were a weekday, meaning a holiday, then the day would begin on an entirely different note, meaning a much more cheerful note. In case of the guys (our dads, that is), they would wake up at either 6 am or 7 am, wash their face, brush their teeth, hurriedly eat a few biscuits and then run to the fields with their bats, balls and footballs to play until at least the sun shone overhead their heads (meaning, the afternoon). It would be followed by the shedding of their clothes and then taking a merry dip in the nearby ponds after which they would go home to partake of their lunch and then sleep until the evening, which would be followed by the same things that they did after coming back from either their school or college.

In case of the girls (our moms), they would wake up by a maximum of between 5.30 am-06.00 am, to assist their mothers in all the household work and plan ahead for the rest of the day and also so that they could attend their tuitions (yes, generally, in those times, it was us guys who were more generally known for playing truant with respect to their tuitions or coaching classes, though girls too did the same, with their numbers being very less). It would then followed by lunch, sleeping and then, well, the usual evening routine as already described above.

That was what it was like to live then, guys and girls. And when we look at the lives we lead today, it’s very saddening to note that maxims like “early to bed, early to rise” and its associated habits have vanished, replaced instead by well, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc and the early morning games instead replaced by frequent messaging and checking texts, playing Real Football 3D, World Cricket Championship etc by lying down comfortably on their beds. Instead, it is norm rather than the exception to wake up bleary eyed in the afternoon, and yet still spend an hour extra in their beds just checking and replying to the message etc. And as for afternoon slumber which is just so essential to health? Hah! It has been replaced by ‘brunch’ (late breakfast eaten in quantities similar to lunch), photo shoots at fancy restaurants, etc. Whew! Tiring isn’t it? Well, as for the evenings, it is spent by being couch potatoes(duh!).

As you can see, there is nothing much to describe when it comes to our century with regard to our lives. Yes, there are many more things to do, many malls to visit, many events to attend and yet, truth be told, they simply do not have the charm of the century I described. After all, (and true bookworms will agree), what can beat the smell that comes from a new book as it is opened as opposing to tapping away at a digital screen? What can beat the sense of exhilaration and sweat that flows down when we physically score a goal, hit a four six, or play hopscotch as opposed to just (once more), just mindlessly tapping away the screen? Nothing at all.

That is what I wish to convey to you all. I hope of you have a good time ahead. Sayonara until the next time folks!