When I was in school I used to hang on for the INTERVAL bell to ring. The reason being that I cud see the ice candy fellow standing rite (right) in front of my window, away frm the school fence. As the bell wud ring I, along with my gang, wud quickly approach him to buy some ice candies. The white milky ice one was my fav cos the orange one wud provide evidence of our act to our maam, as the colour wud remain on our cheeks and tongues!

My other fav was kitchen toys. Some elders helped me in putting the shelves on the back wall of my house. My play wud start at day break. Big green leaves were cut with a sharp bottle lid to be made into round chappatis. The soft green leaves, flower petals and small stones made the curry. I discovered that a combination of chuna (used in making pan) and turmeric wud give a dazzling red colour. So somehow I managed to get some chuna (from my dadaji`s pan basket) and turmeric frm moms kitchen, without her notice of course!. The red colour with green leaves made my curry look finger licking yummy!! But alas only my doll cud eat it and not me L. Yes my doll, a cute little one with long, shiny blonde hair. I named her “Dumpy.” Her eyes wud close if I made her sleep and her shoes cud be removed while bathing and her soft silky hair could be combed and platted too. I made a small slit on her lips and if I hold her cheeks she wud open her mouth like “O”!! And with my small toy spoon I fed her all my delicacies. My invisible frds/visitors wud get tea made out of mud, served in cute tiny tea sets.

As I grew up, I started making friends. In our colony we had big gangs for boys and girls. We use to play games according to the season. In cricket, balling was my favorite! Cos I can stand in one place and make everybody run to get the ball from the bushes far away! A play called seven times was my freak out game (remember seven time will have seven blocks placed one above the other and the opposite team should hit your team member with the ball before the blocks are rebuilt).We used to make teams and play like hell till we got tired of running. I used to play goti (kanche), gilli danda, kho kho etc. During the rainy season we invented a play called “Khupasni”. It’s a game played using an iron rod. You have to throw the rod on wet ground so as to make it stand vertical in it. if it falls, u r out! In hot summer, games like caroms, chess and business were the big time pass.

Friends, I was just trying to relish my sweet childhood memories. But I really worry for the children now-a-days, who I hardly see playing any such games. They are all engaged mainly in tuitions after school and then in watching TV. I hardly see them enjoying the way they should be at this age.

I request all parents to understand that play is as important as study. It builds your kid’s self-confidence and gives them the courage to face any situation under any circumstance they might come across in the future.