The summers which I spent as a child were characterised by innocence, while these summers constitute lack or rather loss of innocence. Sinking my teeth into ice candies and satiating my thirst with Rasna is now replaced by Cornetto's and Tang. That apart, my summers have changed because I no longer search for picnic spots and vacations and holiday destinations, but internships. Disney channel has given way to movie channels.
Gone are the days when I sought freedom in learning how to swing, striving to touch the sky with my feet. Nowadays I have become more practical, and freedom to me means learning how to become self dependent and learn how to keep my feet on the scooter or the car's accelerator, the likes. Gone are the blue skies, green lawns and pink dreams, I now stare into a computer screen. Caps have given way to glares. Mud packs to face wash. This isn't a lament, just an account of my affair with life.
But the long beach walks with coconut water sustain. The hot winds have remained the same, however, and so has my position, sleeping, with feet still dangling in the air. The books, my companions, have changed. Salman Rushdie has now replaced Enid Blyton. Nursery rhymes to poems to poetry. School vacations have now become college breaks. I have grown up, or have I?
Just a few years ago, I was one of the kids I see now. Laughing, playing, smiling, enjoying the carefree days. Wherever did my childhood go?
But, certain aspects of life never change. Like nature. The cotton balls have burst open from the trees, and the cuckoo continues to sing melodiously. Sunshine, dew drops, flower petals, hope. Anxiously waiting for results, and the rest. Vacations, and mangoes! The ripe, juicy king of fruits is here! Summers and mangoes are eternal partners. A pair made in heaven. Both are yellow, and sweet, and make us wait the whole year round for them, desperately. I still look forward to dirtying my pious white tee with mango stains. Have I really changed that much?
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