Potter hexes Swami
By: Vinay (May 12th, 2008)“Vinay! Will you go out or should I kick you out?” my mother would question me. Even before you start wondering what prank I would have got into, let me clarify that it was no punishment. Rather this is what my mom would force me to do every summer when I was a kid (yes, you are right, I have grown up); go out and play.
It was an ordeal for both of us; for me to convince her to allow me some more TV time and for her to kick me out to play some outdoor games. And once out, I would be gone for hours (not that my mom regretted it).
And yet after all these years, living now in a densely populated locality in Ahmedabad one would expect some better activity across the lanes than solving confused ideas between self and one’s canine friends. But I hardly come any kid happily marching down the streets to play cricket (or any other sport for that matter), except only when there’s a power cut which again is a rarity in the city.
I remember how much I was inspired by an episode in the television serial ‘Malgudi Days’ where Swami and his friends go down to explore a cave on the outskirts of the hamlet. His excursions were a treat to watch and to dream about.
In our days, the axiom ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ held the key. Ever bored of the usual games, we would invent some weird outdoor games such as Frisbee Cricket where the rules of cricket are applied on game played with a Frisbee by two teams. And the allowances were spent on mostly buying tennis balls or shuttle cocks (unlike the Harry Potter DVDs today that sell like hotcakes).
‘Land and water’, ‘I Spy’, ‘Blindfold’, etc. are some of the games I still miss, and many of you may as well. The energy, the stamina and the adrenaline rush, not to mention the joy, were enviable.
But now thanks to our deal pal, Mr. Potter and friends, outdoor games are a passé. Come summer and kids are obsessed with either the DVD player or the XBOX. And while they could let their hair down in some sport, they choose not to let Harry down.
It’s true that every previous generation thinks theirs was the best but they do also know what lies ahead. While today’s kid is smart enough to crack the cheat codes for ‘Counter Strike’, I wonder if he could pluck a mango from a tree with an equal ease. More than the carefree Huckleberry Finns, we happen to meet nerdy geeks donning spectacles from an early age (thank the idiot box).
These days the kids are eventually left to the mercy of summer camps to get their body and mind going with some fun and play unlike the ‘ancient’ sports that offered challenges to both the parents and the wards.
With Mr. Potter and his friends invading the drawing rooms, it has been a subtle good-bye to Swami’s excursions. Should I say Potter hexed Swami out?! XBOX, coupled with the idiot box, have instead allowed umpteen calories to settle.
Nevertheless, with the summer having just begun, there is still a chance to revisit the ‘Malgudi Days’.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
well you took many of us back to the good old days….the long hours on the field…the fights…a tanned skin by the end of vacations….but how we longed for those days…. but i was also looking at the scarcity of open grounds in the city….but an enthusiast will never shy away from making the lanes and galis also their playing zones !
May 14th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I agree with you. Childhood is just not what it used to be (and this is what every generation says)..but i also think that tv, xbox and computers are a city phenomenon and not a country-wide phenomenon as of now. Children in villages and towns are still in the company of nature. However, as you have rightly pointed out, with parents getting competitive day-by-day, kids are so exhausted attending tuition classes, dancing classes, hobby classes, brain tutorials and the like that there is no time left to be a child. p.s-I think harry potter and malgudi days will co-exist