Summer vacations!!ππ Kids are free from daily school drill & ready to relish this summer holidays. But when kids are at home, parents get more busy to keep them entertained & active. Parents think this free time can be used for overall growth of their kids so they plan lined up activities or send them to summer camps or join extra curricular classes .πβΉπ€Ύ
When I was thinking about all these, a thought came to my mind about the βgood old days!β How this 2018 summer vacation is different from our 80s & 90s vacations.
Summers were simpler back in the day. It was “the” time when you let yourself loose! My parents never spent special money & efforts to keep us entertained. We were told to just go outside & play! !! Not for limited hours but from dawn to dusk !!ππ
In those days without Internet, phone & Whats app, the communication was βrelatively slowβ which means we used to anticipate the family get-together which in itself was quite exciting. We had the time of our lives living those days.
Yes! it was the time when all relatives gather for 1-2 weeks, the best part was company of cousins . πI’m really blessed to have so many maternal & paternal cousins . Wherever we meet, we always had blast. Grandparents house was perfect meeting point for us.
My both grandmas were excellent cooks , lovable & very kind. But at the same time very strict about routines & rituals. They would never allow us to enter kitchen without bath & most of the time cooked everything by themselves.
It would be insane if I don’t mention Mango in summer. Aamras puri with batata bhaji(potato veg ) & masale bhat(fried veg rice) , aamrakhand(mango shrikhand) , kairi bhaat(mango rice) ,methamba (unripe mango curry ) all these are Maharashtra’s special recipes . So tempting!!! πππJust by writing name I’m craving for it badly . My mom, grandma, aunties always made sure we get delicious & different treat everyday . Even if no special dish we would be happy to have plain rice- dal , khichadi or just kachha chiwda (puffed rice mixture).
Nothing is more satisfying than chilled water in mataka(earthen pot) but to beat the heat we had rounds of juice, Sharbat for full day. πππ
Nimbu(lemonade), kokam sharbat, jaljeera , panha(unripe mango juice ), lassi(buttermilk) & flavorful Rasana .π―πΈπΉπ§ We had many failed attempts of making kulfi or ice cream at home as we impatient souls had habit of opening freezer every 15 mins to check whether it was done or not. So many times we ended up drinking kulfi juice & icecream shakes only .π€§π€§
How can I forget weekly special Neem leaves juice from grandma & how we used to hide here & there. But granny made it compulsory for everyone because of its cooling nature & antibacterial property. Really can’t think of it now but that time had to gulp down full glass in one go .π€’π€’
Long power cuts was like a chance to do something creative.πβ
Shortage of water would turn into long relay by standing few meters apart & passing buckets to each other till every pot filled with water. When heat was unbearable , sprinkling water on curtains, bed, carpets & single mischief was like a break point for water fight.π¦π¦
when missing someone writing letters on postcards.π¬…really we had so many ways to kill boredom . Also playing cards, carom, board games , reading books, taking rounds to library, recording/listening songs on cassettes was regular activities. π»π²π―
If bored with all these then running to nearby rental VCR shop, renting few VCDs & watching 3-4 movies back to back with entire colony .πΌπΊ
Evenings were spent in either parks enjoying street food or in market for window shopping & more bargainingππ or Meena bazar(Fun fair) for rides & yummy chat items .π’π‘
We cook together, enjoy the mangoes, savor the sugarcane juice and just chill! At night, we used to sleep on the terrace under the stars.ππ Playing antakshari , scary ghost stories at midnight π», making strange sound to disturb sleepy neighbors & pretending to sleep just before loosing their cool!!
How can I forget special malai kulfi & mataka kulfi which used to come after midnight only and then slowly going down to get money & creating such a blunder that would wake up every person in that house. Finally going to bed only after scolding from elders of our house.
At that time ready made food was not so popular option & no machines were available for papad, chips, sewayan, pickles , juices etc.
Ladies used to make it at home & stock it for a full year. All these requires lots of patience , skills & perfections . Being smaller in family my imperfection while making it got ignoredπ· but my elder sis & cousins always been instructed about how Papad should be exactly in round shape, sewayan thickness should be very fine & loop should not be broken, boiled potato chips should be separated fast, big earthen pickle jar shouldn’t be touched by anyone & so so many…….
Really I don’t remember being bored ! It was so much fun trying new things every day & helping mom in drying food stuff on terrace & then waiting impatiently for first lot of fried chips/papad. Sneaking out on others terrace to check dried stuff & jumping from one wall to another. (Sorry aunties, it wasn’t monkey who had stolen your amla & tamarind candies…ππ)
Really how mad we were behind those small-small things. When air coolers came & because of overpopulated mosquitoes , we gradually stopped sleeping outside . Every Summer heat was scorching but we had βdesertβ coolers which would transform the home from cauldron of heat to a freezer within minutes!
Life as we know it now was very, very different! We had a lot of time…so much that there were times…we did βnothingβ. Seems like a luxury today but absolutely true!
While things are dramatically different today, we do miss those days. That does not mean that life is boring today. Itβs just that the idea of enjoyment and sharing has changed. Itβs very important not to forget those days. As the saying goes – Never forget who you are and where you belong!
The summer is approaching in Bahrain and very soon we will be off to India for the vacations to spend time with my parents & in laws.
I know this post will bring back a lot of fond memories for many friends. Do you have similar experiences? Please share if you like.
Image credits- Self, Google & shutterstock.
Β©2017-2018 Bhavana, Colourfulcanvas, All Rights Reserved.
Wonderful post. Childhood and summer vacation memories.
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Thanks Aman for the read & kind words.
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Lovelyyy ! Really u bring back those memories when I used to go to my grandma’s place during summers. Feeling nostalgic βΊ
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Yes Jyo, really missed those fun filled days. Happy you liked this post. Thanks!!
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Wonderful post. After reading your post I just remembered by childhood memories.
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Thanks dear. Happy that you could relate to it.
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Beautiful!
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Appreciate you stopping by!
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Summer vacation is synonymous with food & fun. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post, it seems to be a wonderful trip down the memory lane !! π
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Yes ! Indeed Megala . Summer was like a variety of food items throughout the day & that too cooked with love & care.
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This post is really awesome Bhavana I feel I miss a lot of things like childhood friends, long cycle rides, antakshari,sleeping on the terrace,waiting for the letters from loved ones.
Thanks for this post, I really miss those beautiful days spent. A childhood which now children rarely get and the tension free days.
Keep writing π
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Right Manisha. Children are more into gadgets nowadays & this make me really sad when they constantly want something new to entertain themselves . Our childhood days were simple ,carefree & full of fun .
I’m really pleased this post could recollect all beautiful memories of your childhood. Thanks a lot!
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Welcome Bhavana and I feel childhood days should be care free because as we become adults we have so many responsibilities and child life is the best time to enjoy, learn new things and it’s best if child is close to nature and enjoy sports away from gadgets as much as possible π
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Very well said Manisha. We can’t change things right now but at least we can control them . Exposure to nature & sports can help children develope a healthy & happy life.
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πππ
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It’s my pleasure, it will be wonderful if kids are exposed to different things like sports, nature and may be some creative things instead of games, gadgets then the child life will be full of beautiful memories to cherish π
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What a delightful post refreshing memories. Yes those lovely days. Summer holidays were heaven back then. Its about time. We played so much in the streets and we never knew what boredom meant. Todays kids have many chouces but still get boredπ. Anyways thanks for the outstanding post, loved it.
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Thanks for reading , resonating & replying !! Your words always cheer me up.
Life has changed! Things that were easily available in our childhood days are now taught in summer camps.
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Nostalgic!!
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Thanks Shalooji for the read!
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As you said life is not boaring today, but we can’t forget those beautiful past memories. Wonderful post, we have to show this post to our children as they can imagine how life was without internet.
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Agree with you Subbashini. We can’t change what we have today but so good to recall some of the wonderful times we had!
Thanks dear for lovely feedback.
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wonderful post Bhavana! tinkle, amar chitra kathas, enid blyton books ,the indoor games ,mangoes and all those yummy treats bring back wonderful memories of summer vacations!
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Nice post .. πππ
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Glad you enjoyed the read!!
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Your posts are amazing
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You post make me long for my childhood summer vacation and food πΈπ
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Such a sweet compliment for my post!! Thanks
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My pleasure
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Wonderful post, check out what we have shared on the same topic: https://vivabooksindia.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/enjoy-summer-vacations-productively/
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Thanks!!
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Lovely!!β€β€
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Even I am also carving for those dishes. π€€π€€. Love them.
ππππβΊοΈ
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