The street turned playground – The Hindu

A fading pastime.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A few days ago, on a dusky evening, my cousin and I were riding towards the badminton court. En route, we saw a few boys playing cricket on the streets. As my cousin slowly rode the motorbike, our eyes were glued to the game till it went out of sight. As we reached the badminton court, to our surprise, we found ourselves to be a bit earlier to the court. We sat on the steps and started to reminisce about our childhood. Our minds were filled with nostalgia.

Decades ago, whenever our summer vacations were announced by our school, we would be on cloud nine. During school days, even alarms and nudging by my parents could not wake me up from the cosy bed, but on the annual vacation, I would wake up early in the morning even without an alarm. After brushing the teeth and drinking a cup of milk, I would take the bat and leave home. Another herculean task was to gather the players. Once the requisite number of people are gathered, we would place the stumps made by us from coconut fronds. Bricks and sand provide us with the necessary support for the stumps. The broken pieces of the bricks would aid us in drawing the crease at the striker as well as the non-striker ends. Our street was our stadium. Our game would continue till any of our parents came up to take us to breakfast. After a short break for food, the game would resume.

Since it is a street with plenty of houses, any mishit would lead the ball into the houses.

There are a few who take it in the lighter sense. And there are a few who are reluctant to give back the ball. Despite all these ordeals, our game would continue. Even the scorching sun in the middle of the day could not stop it.

As the sun receded and dusk set in, we would switch to other games. In the twilight, we would be playing seven stones, kabaddi, football and so on.

After finishing dinner, again we would hit the streets, playing hide and seek in the dark. There will be a plethora of banter and chats in between, which will make time fly like a jet during the vacation.

As we reminisced about all these golden moments, my cousin and I understood that the present generation is missing many joys of childhood.

Mobile phones have single-handedly curtailed the process of socialisation and playing outside the home. It has led to a waning cognitive ability and a dearth of physical fitness.

Years later, we realised that playing outside the home has not only provided us with memories to cherish and a way to pass the time, but it has also provided us with exposure to many people, helping us to empathise with mates and accept failures.

Subtly, it has honed our personality in many ways. It is disheartening to find that many parents are not letting their children play outside, and nowadays many children are reluctant to go out and play as they are addicted to smartphones. Let us break the shackles and explore the outer world. As we discussed these, our coach came to open the badminton court, and we ventured in to begin our game.

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