Childhood Memories

I was listening to Radio the other day and they had a cute thing going on…they were asking people what games they used to play when they were small. It was so nice to hear some names that I had not heard in a long time. People said all sorts of things from pakdam-pakadayi (running and catching), oonch-neech or land and water, lock and key, sitolia (or seven stones or pitthoo). And then I also remembered my childhood and all the games that we used to play. There was one particular game that we used to call “gallery” – Don’t remember the rules now, but it had something to do with four blocks and four stones. Any kind of stones- big, small, round , flat. Ahh…flat stones - that reminds me of something. But, I just couldn’t remember the name of the most basic game that we used to play where you have to throw stones on the boxes we used to draw in the playground/road with sticks/chalk. And not just any stones could be used for that game…you needed special flat stones. In fact, flat stones were so difficult to find that half of games period used to be spent searching for them and then the other half in playing that game. So much so that, I actually started collecting such stones and used to put them in my school bag. Before I knew it, I had almost 30-35 of them! My dad once came to the room and lifted my bag to keep it aside, he found it awfully heavy and asked me “kya patthar bhare hai kya isme?” I of course, didn’t know it then that it was meant to be a metaphor and innocently said yes (I was also wondering how did he know?). Papa was shocked beyond words. At first, he could not understand why it was so important for me to have those flat stones. But after my repeated attempts to explain it to him, he let me keep one of them and let me go with the warning that he would check my bag daily now. I don’t remember, I think I had cried then because papa had scolded me. But now, I can’t stop laughing about it. As I was having this flashback, there was one thing that was still bothering me…what was the name of the game? How can I forget this? After days of thinking, it suddenly struck me “STAAPU”. That’s what we used to call it. I know there are innumerable other names for this one. Then there was this other game, I don’t even know if it ever had a name. Two people stand facing each other, holding hands up, sort of making an entry gate and everybody else has to enter through it. I remember some parts of the song “….ab toh jail mai jaana padega, jail ki roti khani padegi, jail ka pani peena padega, ab toh jail mai jaana hi padega”. And then that person would be out. Was there any name for this game? If there was, I don’t remember it (I have become old !!)
And then of course I thought about good old teacher-teacher, ghar-ghar, ringa-ringa roses, fire in the mountain,…….and the list goes on. Children have a good imagination and do not really need toys to play with !! Anyways, it was nice to relive those years all over again (atleast in memories)!!

GOD

A friend asked me today "Does GOD exist ?". I dont know how to reply to her in yes or no. Here are my various thoughts on the issue:

1. In ancient times, people used to treat their kings as gods. So, essentially Ram, Krishna etc were good kings that took good care of their subjects. Hence, people gave them the status of “God” and believed they were re-incarnations of Vishnu himself. Even Hiranyakashyap declared himself as God and forced people to worship him, but because of his bad deeds people gave him the status of “raakshas”
2. Being a Hindu by birth, I have been taught (or rather just gathered this while growing up) to treat the five basic elements as God. Food is considered god. Sun is considered god. Science also says we cannot survive without these. We know for a fact that the body dissolves into these elements upon death. That’s exactly what geeta preaches….”bhagwaan ko sab arpan karta ja”
3. I also believe in the theory of vibrations. And that’s why I like to go to temples. When so many people with good vibrations (even the worst of the people think only about good things in temple) are together, those vibrations have a positive effect on you. Also, the fear of God instills discipline in people. If you get up early in the morning, take bath, pray (which in a way, is same or close to meditation) , the body will be healthy. Havent you ever wondered why you feel so good on smelling “agarbatti” ? Its fragrance itself makes you feel happy, besides in ancient times it used to get rid of insects.
4. My take on astrology: When the moon’s gravitational pull alone can cause tides, the gravitational forces of planets definitely affect our thinking, actions and hence our future. It has been empirically proved that the number of accidents occurring on amavasya is much more than that on purnima. I believe in astrology the science, but do not know if I can believe in any of the modern day astrologers. If the place and time of birth is known accurately, the future can be predicted with some accuracy. But then again, it is in your hands to change it.
5. Never underestimate the power of human mind. “If you think you can, you can”. And that’s why I feel the belief in god is nothing but belief in yourself. If believing in god gives you strength, its nothing but your own inner strength which you otherwise don’t realize that you have. Only when you are put into certain ‘not-so-good’ situations , you realize how much you are capable of handling, and you really find your inner strength. Some people say they did it, some give it the name of God.
6. I really do believe in “geeta” – though I have not read it fully yet. It does not try to clarify if God exists or not, rather talks about what should be one’s approach towards life. I try to follow it as much as I can.

Makes sense ?