Time has brought back several memories from my childhood. Let me describe some of them, which are common for us in my country but might sound strange to people living in your parts of the world especially in western countries.
I was born into a middle-class family. My childhood was wonderful. My father was an educated person that qualified to work in city for any big establishment but engaged in our ancestral farming business, and my mother, also an educated lady who was a teacher in her unmarried life, but preferred the role of a house lady after marriage.
I lived with my parents and grandparents. Grandma used to tell me stories every night. Hearing those stories, I used to get lost in them, as if I was the king of those stories. Often, I used to go with my father to the farm, where he used to tell me about the crops and the animals and birds living around there.
Because of the calm atmosphere in our village, we enjoyed the chirping of birds, sound of flowing water and the cattle we had. My father always asked me to be truthful and say nothing, which annoys others. All my teachers always thought I was good at studies, so they loved and gave me proper attention. As much as they taught, they gave us both worldly and bookish knowledge.
I spent my childhood in the village, so I remember my childhood memories very well. As a child, waking up early in the morning, going to the farm with friends, taking a bath under the tube well, and running back home laughing was how my day's activities used to be.
Since I have always enjoyed eating parathas (a local fried homemade bread) with homemade butter every morning, it was a great experience then and even now for me.
When I was seven, we had a dog in our house that we loved very much. That dog is no more alive, but he used to take care of us. One day, I went out of the village with a couple of other children while playing and forgot the way back home. The dog showed us the way and took us safely to the house.
I still remember that day very much how some of us cried because we had gone too far and forgot our way back home. I remember, in childhood, we all used to enjoy rope swing on the tree and the cool breeze.
We, the students, used to make a lot of noise in school and also played a variety of games and sports, such as hide-and-seek and running around in the playground.
During the rainy season, it was a lot of fun to have a rain dance, splash in the pools of water, try to ride a bicycle and fall over and over, but still continue cycling.
In our village, they set swings on trees in every house during the rainy season. There was also a banyan tree in our house where my father still puts a swing for use of family and neighbors. My younger sister and I both loved swinging, and so did our young friends. As a result, we used to have a lot of squabbles, but my mom would always come over and settle everything.
Childhood Prank
As a child, I would go to the field, sometimes running after goats, sometimes pulling the tails of small animals, sometimes untying the cow’s calves, and sometimes sitting on the backs of buffalos.
For this we used to get scolded many times in our childhood, but we also used to have fun. As a child, my younger sister and I often fought with each other. We used to fight over small things, but today I miss those noisy fights with my sister.
We played a lot of games till the afternoon. It used to soil our clothes with mud and we often got so dirty that our faces were unrecognizable. My friends and I had a lot of fun in our childhood. But the scolding we received from mama for our fun was as memorable too.
Along with playing, I was very fond of reading informative books and magazines. Whenever I got the time, I used to sit and read them, because my grandfather was also very fond of reading books. My grandpa and father often brought new books to our house whenever they went to the city.
But, as much as I was playful in my childhood, I was also good in my studies. I passed every class during my school with good marks every year. Ultimately, after high school, I went to nearby city and completed my masters and got a job, although today I am jobless.
Photos from my album taken by me