Which India did you grow up in?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Aria, Sep 23, 2014.

  1. Aria

    Aria New IL'ite

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    Diversity, each its own, we are all different, we have different experiences, we are , you are , thou thee bee baa, none of that here!


    Our mileu is very heterogeneous and this thread is not to generalize, deductively or inductively rationalize what happens in India but what India did you endorse and were a part of, what affected you, what India were you trending along, which India did you walk with ...


    I grew up in that India


    #Where I did not know many of my friends castes, sects , never bothered, the Sastrys were clan who made yum pongal and the Mukherjees cultured bee-hives to promote all those chum confectioneries. I never bothered what A, B, C , D certified they were!


    #Where my Engg. friends banged the door at 5:00 AM to ascend to the terrace with our drafters cursing the damned day we choose our discipline to finish our drawings by 9:00 AM , well 2-weeks window is too small for sluggish people, ain't?

    #Where road-side romeos were honored with elaborate induction on how to be au courant of latest practices. Give a rose, what good, give a bouquet I can resell at 'Archies'.


    #Where my dad had only one condition "I will never let you marry until you work, buy a house, have enough bank balance, visit atleast 2 countries and then GO and marry any champak bhoomiya"


    #Where with corruption, pollution , competition we friends would still sit in the river bank and be amused with the corn seller roasting, woosville wager which dude is going to propose whom, wager 50 , up the ante?


    #Where people made you weep with the affection, fondness , love and aww! what did I do to deserve such moments ..(C'here birthday bashes and hugs)


    #Where if not for the nosy neighbours, parked well-wishers, deranged demagogues I don't know how I would have been entertained ?


    #Where at the end of the day one feels I love it all so much , will it stay the same always, forever?


    Which India did you grow up in?


    (Each of my statement has a social practice, system that you either appreciated, encountered, fought, succumbed or ignored, need not comment on same)
     
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  2. Ragini25

    Ragini25 Platinum IL'ite

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    India I grew up is dear to me because of my dear family, extended family and great friends! Eccentrities of India are special because of the same people. It was the people, not the country that made it so special. Just my 2 naya paise :)

    more or less the same india u described in ur OP
     
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  3. DKI

    DKI Platinum IL'ite

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    I did not grow up in India. But spent some wonderful years during college there. This is the India I grew up in

    1) Running to jump into an overcrowded bus and just dumping my bag on who ever is sitting there KNOWING that person would look after it and not get mad at me.

    2) AH all those heroes on the street corners and pretending to ignore them but desperately wanting to laugh at their craziness

    3) Aria - The 5am ritual happened to me too. Only that it was sometimes round the clock to get the botany and zoology practical records completed. In my case it was not 2 weeks notice....but a whole 4 months.

    4) Buying a vada and lime juice at the store in front of our hostel without the watchman or the warden even knowing we had crept out with the day scholars (umm...studied in a convent, and no leaving the premises unless we had approval of the warden)

    5) Onam and Christmas holidays at my mama's place. The broken down KSRTC buses that we had to take to get there, and once there the total chaos that ruled with 10 cousins in a 2 bedroom house :)

    6)During Load Shedding time (30 min sessions every day but Sunday) in Trivandrum, my neighbors and I would gather in the corridor of our apartment complex where there was light due to the generator, and play game after game of either Rummy or Estimate.

    7) My ultimate favorite - walking out of the house in what ever skirt and blouse came into my hand, and a pair of kholapures on my feet. These days people look down on you if you are not dressed up.

    Thanks for starting this thread.
    GIMME BACK MY OLD INDIA
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2014
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  4. Aria

    Aria New IL'ite

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    hugsmiley




    That viewpoint would have auctioned for few more piastres in eBay if you waited instead of sealing for 2 NP
     
  5. Aria

    Aria New IL'ite

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    Good to hear from someone who grew in growed-up India.

    Wonder why I never did that, may be my tattered books were too precious in case they scamper from back.

    You are overlooking the 1-year notice for annual exams. Nothing changes!

    Cute! Uh-oh, may be they miss seeing you in your pretty garments..

    Disbursed 2 paise to Ragini, errr, piddly poorer than I was when I started the thread for such lavish gift ;-)
     
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  6. peartree

    peartree Platinum IL'ite

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    I grew up in the India that -

    1) My well-being and my good upbringing was not just my parents' business, but every neighbor... no kid was a latchkey kid. Neighbor aunty would be ready with evening tiffin and coffee delivered at my door, and kept an eye on me until parents came home :)

    2) Diwali and every other festival was a joint affair. No one knew how much or how less the crackers each flat had. It was all community property, put in a big bin....everyone's crackers for everyone else to burst! The dads who would fight bitterly during association meetings were different people, keeping an eye on the kids antics, while discussing politics or their bank policies.

    3) Our parents bought us bicycles so that we would get home soon from school, but the bicycles were never ridden for the most part. The bunch of us from school would walk, dragging the bicycles along, chit-chatting crushes, movies, the occasional treat of veg. puff from the Iyengar Bakery, if parents were generous to give us Rs. 2.

    4) Every auto-driver, iron-wallah, provision store person was "anna" and indirectly became our de-facto guardians. Rash scooty riding was promptly reported to parents by one of these as "papa romba vegam-aa vandi ottudhu saar" (the child rides her 2 wheeler very fast sir)

    5) Lazily cycling to the Marina beach in the summer after noons to look at and giggle at the numerous lovers hidden behind umbrellas

    6) Waking up to sounds of MS Subbalakshmi's suprabhatam from the temples nearby, and the sounds of cooker whistles and of course, the fresh smell of The Hindu, trying to pry away the Metro Plus section from dad. Friday's papers were especially looked forward to for all the movie gossips and concert reviews.

    7) December was spent eagerly hopping from one concert venue to another, trying to find the ragams and trying to make sense of the complex rhythm patterns and furiously taking notes to go and report back to paatu maami (music teacher) on which ragam we would like to learn next.

    Sigh, those were the best days of my life!
     
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  7. Chitravivek

    Chitravivek Platinum IL'ite

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    India I grew up:

    1. Walking to school holding my thatha (grand dad) hands. Eagerly waiting at 3.00 PM bell in school when thatha would come to pick us ( me and my Sister). I should confess we were eager for the peppermint Mittai that he used to bring to school everyday. We will keep munching it on the way back home.

    2. Thatha and patti (grand ma) feeding us food in our hands and we gobbling it down to an extent we would filled our food till our throat. This is called Kaila sapadu and sometimes nila choru (we will sit outside in moon light and eat food served on our hands ).

    3. Me wanting to always try the dress my sister had and kept secretly doing it without her knowledge.. We laugh on it now :)

    4. During my intership I remember running to catch the train in the crowded station. Looking for an exclusive window seat and enjoying a good breeze. On the way back from hectic day I have loved munching on all the foods that came my way in the train. I still love nei biscuit (butter biscuit) and I remember seeing the same person selling those in train the last time I went to India.

    5. Buying small jewelries sold by patties ( old ladies) in train. Of course I would have bargained a lot and may be ended up getting good scolding in front of strangers when I ultimately didn't buy from that patti...

    6.That smell of rava kesari, pongal idli and dosa in the morning from mami's house ( we called our neighbor aunty mami and uncle mama).

    7.The readily available Auto anna to take us to any place safely while we enjoy the natural breeze.

    This is the India I grew up. I cannot think of any one thing that I would hate. All I can say is I loved , Love and will love the country I grew up and wish to settle back some day in life.
     
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  8. sanjuruby3

    sanjuruby3 Platinum IL'ite

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    This is very interesting thread. We all love india we grew up in, we love current india, we feel proud when india launches to mars, or india wins....and wish to settle back sometime in future.. but we do not. :-(((( We can not just take the decision to move back...

    1.I love coming to my home early afternoons from college before everyone else arrives. Enjoying my time alone with TV and secretly eating maggi before mother comes and starts scolding for not eating lunch she cooked.
    2.Love that there were times without 'being connected' to world through internet//phones . With no electricity, chatting and sleeping on rooftops.
    3.And yea Sunday TV programmes, newspapers.
    4.Coming back home every friday with dirty laundry and stroll on roofs or streets and not talking to anyone to give impression in neighbourhood like we are very special and talented that we got into engg. college.
    5.Here is the best one for me...
    no worries about layoffs, insurance, credit cards , explanations, sorting out of 1000 mails getting everyday, finding which one is junk, making so many calls to fix insurance glitches, missed credit card bills with penalty, investment worries..so many taxation worries.
    uhh... I can just go on on... Is life in US easy? ??? Safe?..yes
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2014
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  9. Aria

    Aria New IL'ite

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    Chitra, Peartree, Sanjuruby thank you for the responses. Love to respond at length dissecting and delecting at each of your thoughtful and playful sentences, duh, heading out now. Thank you hugsmiley
     
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  10. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    The India I grew up in had idyllic summer days at Grandma's place. Playing in the river, plucking mangoes and eating so much that meals had to be skipped, having a zillion cousins as playmates to play with, power cuts were fun.....

    Doordarshan was the only channel and Chitrahaar was a looked forward to event of the week.

    English news was a must watch, thanks to Dad.

    Neighbour's houses were our own. We walked in and out of friends houses in the neighbourhood as we pleased. They did the same with us.

    Walking to school was the norm. No carpool lanes to worry about! Everyone walked or took a private auto. I don't remember a single bad weather day. It was never too hot, cold or rainy to miss school or get dropped off. It was fun getting drenched on our way home!

    Ramayan was watched by everyone at school, no matter what their religious beliefs.

    Bunking college and going for movies were the norm. It was even more fun when a parent had to come for the attendance committee meeting. The lecturer took one look at my Mom and said "Is this your daughter, no wonder she doesn't attend class! When did you ever grace me with your presence!!!!!"(Life does go full circle sometimes)....

    Nosey aunts and uncles were the norm. My parents were the nosey aunty and uncle! A day doesn't go by without somebody in the neighbourhood commenting on some kid or the other. The younger generation was the common enemy.
     
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