Some Things Would Never Change!!!

    In my school days family get together's have always been fun for me and my cousins. I have a ramified clan with uncles, aunts and their offspring. Me and my cousins used to wait eagerly for summer vacations or functions; for those were the times when we all would meet and entered into Terra Incognita of our own reveries. We lived our childhood to it's fullest that involved street-cricket, comic strips, video games, climbing on trees, counting stars and visiting fares with siblings. Ten years later, when I look back to see that time, I find it was the golden era of my life. I love that time and all our childhood fantasies.
   Since I joined engineering, I rarely get chance to visit home. However, during last summers I got a chance to be amidst everyone all over again. It was strange to see that younger set of our generation had taken our place but still I was amused and extremely happy as observing them gives me immense pleasure of re-living my golden days. I featured us in them.
                    But as it is said," Every illusion is meant to be shattered!!!".
   The younger set of our generation(3-12 years old) was having a chat on a fine afternoon when all the elders were having their naps. I decided to join the kids( and my ears could not believe what they heard!!). One of the them was bragging about the new 'United Colors Of Benetton' t-shirt he got last week and others were listening and over bragging their own branded stuffs. My jaw just dropped as at their age my world was limited to only two brands- 'Mom's Choice' and 'My Choice'. However I ignored this incident and thought it's nothing but the fault of commercialization. That evening I was watching a movie on television when toddlers involving youngest set(3-6 years) came and demanded to watch cartoons. Affectionately I handed over the remote and asked them,"which show you want to see babies, Rapunzel or Little Mermaid?" They burst into laughter, gushed and watched me with disgust as if I said some very inappropriate thing. My eyes widened up as I saw them watching Ben10 and Generator Rex. I mean, we see cartoons because they are cute like Rapunzel, Tom&Jerry, Little Mermaid, Looney Tunes and so on. But the stuff they were watching was horrible, mechanised and disturbing. Disturbing disturbing (watching Ra-1 like disturbing!!)
   In next few hours I discovered they don't do a single thing, we did 10 years back. Comic strips became non-existent, NFS and CS took place of Mario and Islander, cartoons they liked were horrible and playing street cricket was, you know, "Tacky!!". My 5 year old cousin could pronounce 'Encyclopaedia' so fluently at the age when I didn't even know the meaning of this word. The little brats destroyed all the illusions I made in my mind and my featuring of "Us" in "Them". That night when two of kindergartners were sleeping next to me, I felt like I am sleeping with enemies who have innocent face but there is an alien, Ben10 fights with, behind this innocence. Next whole day I avoided them as much as possible while they were busy with same stuff they used to do.
   That was a full moon night and I went upstairs to get some fresh air. In one corner of roof I found a-four-year-old-enemy standing and staring at the sky with full concentration. Forgetting my animosity for a second I genuinely asked her,"What you are doing Princess?"
"sshhh, I'm counting stars didi",she replied musingly.
A delight ran in my veins, instantly I featured exact four year old I used to be, in her. I kneeled next to her and kissed her forehead.
"Thanks God, some things would never change!!", I smiled to myself.


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