The simple joys of childhood will never be forgotten. For Indian expats living here, a holiday back home is a learning experience for their children. Whether they find it a pleasurable time rediscovering the delights that their parents enjoyed as children depends on the adults.
A recent trip home by a mum and child was a leisurely stroll down memory lane. Seeing a cart selling sugar cane juice, the mother squealed with joy as she recalled savouring the delight of biting away the stalk, which required some strength and a strong set of teeth and chewing the fibre. The result was messy, but so much fun. As the sweetness squirted into the mouth, the sensation was well worth the wait and the effort.
Taking public transport was another experience looked forward to as it wasn’t an everyday experience. One of these modes of transport is the ubiquitous auto rickshaw or tuk tuk. The little girl found the ride the most thrilling of her life. The weaving through traffic and the sounds of the street were novel to her.
I remember years ago when a set of niece and nephews used to come home from abroad. They looked forward to all the festivals that they had missed while they were away. So, I recreated the spring festival, Holi — when people in India sprinkle coloured powder on one another — for them. The coloured powders were bought at the time of the festival and, although the children came home during winter, it was never too late to celebrate. Out we went into the garden with the colours and the garden hose was brought into play. They wore their swimsuits or old clothes and then ran riot with the colours. After an hour or two of squelching fun, they were brought inside through the kitchen and taken for a bath straight away. They had to be careful not to touch any walls or furniture on the way unless they wanted to incur their grandmother’s wrath.
Spectacle of lights and sounds
Another festival that they looked forward to celebrating retroactively was Diwali. Fireworks were bought and kept aside for them. A night was reserved for the display and the three were enthralled by the spectacle of lights and sounds. The grandparents sat in the verandah to keep an eye on the proceedings and there were frequent warnings to the overexuberant boys to be careful.
They enjoyed going to the park nearby with the most rudimentary equipment compared to the magnificent Retiro Park in Madrid, close to where they lived. But I never once heard them say dismissively that this park was nothing like the Retiro. I think that that is one of the most engaging characteristics of children — that they can appreciate new experiences without being blasé about what they might consider outdated enjoyment.
Of course, our perceptions of things or people change with age, but there are some that remain forever etched in memory and no one can take those away from us.
One of those nephews has since grown up, married a Spanish woman and has brought her to his childhood haunts. She must have been bemused looking at the park, which is now extremely run-down, and wondered how her husband could have possibly have had so much fun there. But, having been brought up to be polite, she showed all the enthusiasm she could muster and let him relive his memories.
Of course, the grandparents’ house still retains its charm and there she could see how he must have had a lovely childhood running in the garden and also diving from the first floor imagining himself to be Superman just because he was wearing the outfit. We won’t dwell here on his grandmother’s reaction when he survived that unscathed.
To look at the world with a child’s eye is a beautiful thing.
