Throwback

Throwbacks.. !!

Such a powerful hashtag nowadays. People posting good old pictures of gone by time in the name of throwbacks.

Nostalgia has just found a younger sibling - “Throwback”.

Time traveling to personally treasured experiences makes us crave more for those days – and to hold onto anything to prolong and savor that moment.

Memories are emotional hooks anchored so firmly to those good old days when we were unsure and uncertain yet living life to the fullest. Tugging at the heartstring, there still are many memories that sentimentally strengthen us.

The cherished childhood memories of fight over a share of Dairy Milk chocolates or Maggi noodles, no benefit - friendships, mimicking teachers, buying new books with sky-high expectations which anyways surpass, make us all too willing to go in the past. No matter how old and independent you are, these fresh as dew, days of gone yesterdays will refresh the tiring souls everlastingly.

No wonder then learning was more experiential, I still remember how rainwater harvesting has been introduced to us, tying a saree or a cloth to two different poles and then keeping weight in the middle of it, so that water strain straight into the defined vessel. Those paper boats and their survival to the fittest. Those reproofs worked like basic principles of classical conditioning.

Sneaking around food was the buzz back then. Be it, Thandai variants in Holi, Gulab jamuns for Deepawali or assorted savories for different gaiety, those sheepishly filled mouths were unaltered. Packet of Uncle chips and Crax were calling you, almost begging you to take them home. And I still remember how we used to finish it even before reaching home. Had it not been for our soiled fingers (that we kept licking), mom would never notice these all-devouring wolf, she had borne. Kismi bar, lollipops, Poppins, Jelly Belly…oh ...those were the days. Pretending to smoke while actually licking this sweet cigarette! It was a swag of the bygone days...

Incredible freedom of watching shows as and when you want, means kids today, will never understand the pain of waiting 7 more days to watch the next episode. This is possibly the most disturbing hardship of 90’s. Those restrictions on the use of the Internet in Cafe and paying hourly for it, flipping over stacks of textbooks for homework, highly ambitioned parents were like a herculean task to deal with, which adds insult to injury.

Those simple school days, where we had to remove our black bata shoes before entering to a computer lab. Recess was all about Milton bottles, no fancy tiffin inside out, pen fights, thumb fights, and left out homework completions. Love was all Archie’s, or collecting tazzos and postcards of your favorite hero who are none other than Shahrukh, Salman or Amir, celebrity crush for example I was in love with Brett Lee.
Adding a pinch of hype here, of an untold one-sided love story ended at blank calls or anonymous greeting cards, a serious version of which may end with love letters, that's it done and buried in a personal diary. Using ink pen from 6th grade was a big leap of faith. Menstruation was a never so discussed taboo. Farewells and fests were the no restriction zones with entitled gender biases. Do what it takes to be in the good lists of teachers, for, elections of house captains, prefects, and monitors evolved to CR (class representative) later. Library a discussion room for indi-pop music. Teachers then were Chacha Chaudhary - unblemished agents who can crack any code of folly.

Nostalgia, Good old days, Diary of a 90's kid

Throwback From Past - Diary of a 90's kid

Adolescence was much more innocent, simpler however embodies the worst or terrible closet. 10 at night was considered super late. Buying tapes was an offensive crime, somehow if you manage to beg or borrow – you are a pro! Adorable landlines with no caller ids... what fun….!!

Owning a cycle with fancy features was a big deal. English was getting compulsory at school & you felt darn cool speaking it. Actually went out for playing games like pitthu (seven stones), freeze, hide n seek, kho-kho. You name it!

Sachin Tendulkar's retirement and those teary eyes as if the world has come to an end. Sundays were all about Small Wonder, Ducktales, Chandrakanta, Mahabharat followed by Dekh Bhai Dekh.

Like for a lifetime I was daydreaming about college, the dawn of which was behind-time, curtailed in a dash and concluded with unrecognized latitude. College convocation, the single privileged day where no matter what you scored, you graduated.

Writing only made me dive deep into old fashioned, never outdated happier days. Fresh as daisies, all glorified. Memories made in innocence are the lessons we hold.

Recollecting memories is like highlighting the value of belongingness or feeling of connectedness—whether with objects or instances or people. An invaluable tactic indeed, to help alleviate the negative feelings. Throwback is a Nostalgic gift that keeps on giving.

In short, thinking about the good old days makes us feel better and do good. As life becomes more hectic and unpredictable, the star of nostalgia is set to shine even brighter.