Spice of life | Childhood joys bring neighbourhood alive
The new entrants have tanned a bit but they are enjoying their newfound freedom. They are building sand castles, playing hide and seek, gully football, hopscotch and every conceivable game under the sun
Ours is a dead-end street lined with newly built houses on both sides. Beautiful facades and swanky cars parked on both sides are the hallmark of our small colony.
Barring the hustle and bustle in the morning when most children scamper to catch their honking school buses, our street wears a deserted look through the day. Once back from the school, mothers are quick to usher their little ones into the cool confines of their sweet homes. Rarely do the children step out of their palatial houses, lest the sun, sweat or soil affect their tender and delicate disposition. PlayStation and gaming apps are their only companions once they finish homework.
Of late, two migrant families, including six children in the age group of five to 10 years, have come to live in one of the under-construction sites in our lane. When I was leaving for my clinic the other day, I noticed hopscotch squares drawn on the street with a piece of chalk. When I returned for lunch, I saw the children from the migrant families, hopping in the squares merrily and enjoying the game. On seeing me, they hastily lined up along the wall to let me through. While parking the car, I took care not to disturb their game. As I entered the house, I could hear a collective shout of joy. Used to a sullen silence for long, I was pleased with the latest flurry of activity in our street.
Hearing their shrieks of fun and revelry, a few children belonging to the “creamy layer” also began to venture out of their inviolable citadels to join their not-so-well-off counterparts for a game. Reluctant entrants to the ever-enthusiastic gang have taken to the ways of their less-privileged friends like ducks to water.
The new entrants have tanned a bit but they are enjoying the newfound freedom to the optimum. They are building sand castles, playing hide and seek, gully football, hopscotch and every conceivable game under the sun to their pleasure and delight.
Nowadays, boundary walls of our houses have become victim to their graffiti skills. The artwork is evident on all walls of the neighbourhood in the form of English and Hindi alphabets and a few difficult-to-decipher drawings.
Yesterday, I noticed a picture of a couple and their two children drawn with a piece of chalk on the boundary wall of my house. I could not help but smile on seeing the caricature of my family by amateur artists.
At last, our street has come alive and children have started partaking of the joys of childhood in the company of their less-privileged friends. Laughter, giggles, and shouts, I’m enjoying every bit of it.
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda rightly said, “Everything is a ceremony in the wild garden of childhood.” rajivsharma.rs201067@gmail.com
The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor
