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A Pendrive full of Memories –Rise of Indian Middle Class
I looked through my Flight’s Window to the panorama below,
restless as I had nothing better to do before I landed in
Bangalore and resumed my life as I am used to. The Sky was
clear from the top and I could see panorama which is not
visible from Mumbai Skyline due to ever clinging Smog.I got
this feeling of Déjà vu and went back in time, I begin to count
the number of times that I’ve sat back like this and reflected
upon my childhood. A childhood festooned with memories of
my formative years and the beginning of day while preparing
for exams. The day use to start with early dawn rendition of “DD News” in deep baritone of news reader
of those times.
Our childhood belonged to the pre-reform years of India, It was a time when great changes were about
to take place and consumption and instant gratification were not yet the way of life for Indian middle
class. It was a time where vacations would mean, time to have pure and simple fun and not a time to
enhance your skills by joining all possible vacation courses, Where Doordarshan’s Sunday morning
Cartoons and evening Movies used to be a special event and for the entire week we use to look forward
to the Sundays to watch our favorite serials on Black & White TV.
It was a time where birthday’s would mean friends & family get together at your place with homemade
food and not just a birthday treat in a flashy Restaurant or Bar. Soft drinks were once in a while
phenomenon and drinking it used to be an event. Something to be enjoyed and to feel good about and
not just a mean to quench your thirst. We were used to playing Hide n Seek, Flying Kites, Plucking
Guavas from neighbour’s orchard , Cycle Race and Cricket matches and were not hooked to any Mobile
Phones, Play Stations or X-Boxes .It was a time of Blackboards and not white boards, fans and not A/Cs,
Inter school Sports meet, Annual Functions, Rainy day off, group photographs, selling “NGO” tickets for
school. SUPW (Art & Craft) class, School Orchestra, Bunking Library class
Our childhood was about picking up pups from the street, making a shelter for them out of bricks and
feeding them biscuits out of whatever pocket money we had. It was a time when we use to get Videos
on rent and watched movies entire night on VCR. It was a time when traveling by “Sleeper Cass” on train
was of great joy and flights were something that we only saw flying across the clear sky, There was no
internet and Personal Computers had Boot Floppy Discs, no home loans, no EMIs ,No Telemarketers, I
remember Bajaj & LML Vespa Scooters that we had in an era where less was more and new cloths were
a by-annual affair bought during important festivals ,during one of these festivals invariably purchase
use to be our School Uniform. Talking of uniform reminds me that the younger siblings would always get
the hand me downs of the eldest in the family.
Today the times have changed; Smart devices, Internet, Social Media and credit cards have made it a
world of consumption and instant gratification. Telegrams have been replaced by smart messaging .We
now live in time of rampant commercialization, things are changing every second, We don’t write letters
anymore but SMS our friends and family, Harry Porter has occupied the place once enjoyed by Enid
Blyton’s. Truly lot has changed, lot will change for better and for worse but memories remains and come
flashing back in time like these when we bring it out from the labyrinth of past for spring cleaning and
safekeeping for another time, another day, another flight like this one.
Happy Landing!
Prateek N Kumar