Once upon a time... All the magic began with these words. These
words had the power to quiet down a crying child, screaming classrooms,
sleepless duos of cousins and friends. Along with these words, as listeners, we
were transported to a whole different world. This world had beautiful
princesses looking after their family or been looked after by their foster care
or even 7 dwarfs!! They had long beautiful hair, and most of all the ability to
believe. The ability to believe that everything that is good takes time. For
them it was freedom from step-mothers or witches or even cruel spells. The
ultimate goal was to fall in love with the prince charming and marry him and
live happily ever after.
Even so along with these there were stories that taught us
values. The morals in the story stayed with us all our childhood and even after
growing up, they do have a certain influence on us. Whether it be the story of
the tortoise and the hare, the mice planning to bell the cat, the monkey and
her kid, the camel and his judgmental attitude….so many stories that its even
difficult to recollect all.
I remember there were these books with different coloured
covers. They came in red, yellow, purple, blue, and green. Almost every kid my
age had those books. Those moral stories were some of the best.
What I remember about these stories are the beautiful pictures
that depicted the story so well. The most favorite picture was in the story of
the mice and the cat, where the mice decide to tie a bell around the cat so as
to alert them when it’s coming to eat them. These mice lived in the grocery
shop and the pictures of the shop were just so beautiful that I used to keep
staring at those for a long time.
Stories hold such an important influence on all of our lives.
People may or may not read these books, but some stories pass on from
generations to generations and remain true even then, after such a long
journey.
Just some time back, I visited an exhibition. It was a normal
sale of products and food stalls etc. I remember halting at a particular stall.
This stall was selling CD’s of the stories and poems for the kids. They had put
on some Cd's as demo for their prospective buyers’. The Cd's played the stories
with subtitles and everything. But something about those pictures was highly
disturbing. The lack of subtlety and appeal to the kids was something I noted
in those.
As I walked home, I started to remember my childhood and the
stories that I grew up on. It is said that the 90’s generation is the
generation which has faced changes more often than any other. That is the
reason this generation hardly now of 23-27 years is heard saying things like,” in
my childhood I had this thing.” or “ today’s kids will never have what we
had!” Usually, these lines are supposed
to be said by the grandparents or parents. But definitely not by the ‘young
guns’.
But it’s true. Kids these days have missed out on so much
that it’s really hard not to feel extremely sorry for them as technology rules
every aspect of their childhood. We were, as a generation lucky and proud to
have had a childhood that did not include excessive technology. In this memorable
childhood, stories formed an immensely important part. To get our homework done
in time, or to make us eat some kind of vegetable, to make us go to bed; stories
were often told as a bribe! And it actually worked…!
The huge difference was that there were story ‘books’. Now its
kindle, or e-book, or even better Cd's. The best we had were cassettes. Those
were played over and over again and the stories were unforgettable! With every
story a scenario was created in our minds and we were lost in the story.
The one change our generation definitely regrets is of the
epic “cartoon network”. That was the favorite channel in every house. Sometimes when cable connections were not available, it was perfectly fine to
go over to a friend’s place to watch your favorite cartoon. The 90’s saw the
best creations in cartoons. Tom & Jerry, Scooby doobie do, Dexter’s
laboratory, The LooneyToons show, The Bugs Bunny show, The road runner show,
the powerpuff girls, Captain Planet, Flintstones, the Adam’s family, Dennis the
menace etc etc etc….the list is endless.
These weren’t just cartoons. They taught us so many things.
Like because of Popeye we all wanted to eat spinach, like Dexter we wanted to
invent something, Scooby and the team taught us that the real monsters are
actually around us and also the importance of working in a team… they had values,
innocence and comedy that appealed and called out to every single kid!
The best thing was grandmother's stories. Those were the stories
that taught us so many things. Those stories felt like an old tradition that
was passed on richly. Those stories had mythology, history, and some made-up
items as well! I remember my grandmother telling me a particular made up story
over and over again just because I loved it! That story however childish it
sounds now, is the best memory of her that I have! It was a holiday special and the best time I
associate with my childhood!
Other than grandparents, the parents also joined in this
tradition. Moms’ usually told stories during lunch time and bed time was generally reserved with dads’. The stories consisted of princes, princesses, kings and
queens, the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Some well-known comic book characters
like Chacha Chaudhary, Supandi, Archie and his friends, Tintin, Garfield, Winnie
the Pooh and his gang were the hot favorites! The wise stories of
Akbar-Birbal, Tenali-ram were always a treat to listen to! I remember every
time I listened to or read those stories; I was awed by
their intelligence and wits! Then there were stories like Goldie-locks and the
bears, or the little red riding hood which were used as a way to warn about the
dangers of wandering away or talking to strangers.
Other than our parents and grand-parents, stories were mostly
heard in schools. I remember some very memorable stories I had in my school syllabus
as a kid. One was of a hen who tries to bake a bread for her kids and asks for
help from others who refuse and she does the whole work all by herself and
relishes the bread not sharing it with anyone but her kids. The pictures
narrating this story were so beautiful that it was one of my most favorite
lessons! Then there were library periods, where the teacher usually narrated
different stories. Some of the famous tales with morals came from Jataka, Aesop’s
Fables. As kids we weren’t allowed in the library. But the stories of Enid
Blyton were the most popular ones. Other than library period there were
narrations in our textbooks about the first train journey, the first plane journey,
and some folklore from different cultures around the world.
Now when I look back and see, I feel that the phrase once upon
a time… had the most impact on us as kids. Even today when I hear anyone start
a story with that (which usually starts with that!) I feel the excitement mount
up.
Some of the iconic stories I remember are of the turtle and
the rabbit. This was the most commonly repeated story. Then there was the story
of the thirsty crow, and then the donkey and the horse, the monkey and the cap
trader, the wolf under the sheep’s skin and so many more… Every story taught us
a value in a fun and entertaining way.
These stories have created an impression on our souls and have
actually enriched us through our lives. The 'once upon a time', isn’t just an
expression but it holds the key to an extremely memorable childhood. What
today’s kids miss through their tech-savvy childhood is this, the nostalgia,
the simplicity of being a kid and the wonderful experience of these stories!
The colourful pictures in the books, the smell of those story books, the
excitement of listening to a new story or an old one over and over again and so
many other feelings that are associated with those stories and those times!
Times have changed as they always do. It’s never considered as a sign of a wise man to hang around in the past. But at some moments like these when
we pause and think about all that we have had and got to do as children, should be savoured
unapologetically, because…once upon a time we too were kids!!!
