I am a child of the 80’s and I’ll state that out
loud and proud, time and time again, no matter how many times I’m asked. Now I
know for anyone and everyone, the year and the decade that they’ve been born
in, is the best. But trust me when I say this, being born in the 80’s was the
best of them all! If you can’t take my word for it, then ask the hundreds and
thousands of others who were born in the same decade and I know you will find
that they agree.
Firstly, one was born into an era of great music
and music that stayed. Parents and grandparents ensured that we were introduced
to and surrounded by the soulful sounds of stars like The Beverly Brothers,
Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Christ Perry, Lorna, The Andrews Sisters,
Connie Francis and Bing Crosby among a host of others. Then growing up, we
discovered the likes of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Queen, Abba,
Boney M and more. A few years down the line from there we grooved to the hits
of the 90’s – from Robin S, Arrested Development and Ace of Base to one hit
wonders like Whigfield, Scatman John and Rednex. In short, all the retro
everyone raves about and dances to today, was made or already around when we
were growing up.
Secondly, we had outdoor childhoods. Yes, you read
right. Outdoor childhoods. In comparison to the children of the 20th and 21st
century, our evenings after school, innumerable holidays and every other minute
that we could spare were spent outside – cycling, running, climbing trees,
stealing seasonal fruit, having well water showers, exploring holes in the
walls (that for us were massive caves that held time dragons and tunnels to other
lands), having picnics on the beach, swimming till we were tanned beyond belief
and so much more. Staying indoors, watching TV and playing video games were the
things we did on rainy days and had nothing better to do to occupy our time.
Thirdly, we lived through some of the craziest fads
and experimental fashions and still came out on the other side of it all with
our own sense of style. We lived through the phases of tie-and-dye, jorts
(jeans cut into shorts at home) and hand me downs. But still, as a generation,
I believe that we never bowed down to the pressure of brands and peers and the
need to fit in because of such specific parameters.
We also grew up in the era of healthy food. We were
spoilt rotten by great-grandmothers and grandmothers alike who made it a point
to cook up mangaad, gaunti mushrooms in the monsoons and all the other yummy
treats that were their particular specialties. In short, fast food joints and
ready to go meals hyped up on ajinomoto were just unheard of. I still remember
sneaking in to the kitchens of our ancestral home in Verna to swipe a spoonful
of mangaad from the copper urns in which they were stored whilst everyone was
having their afternoon siesta.
Thanks to these lovely ladies, we grew accustomed
to being around tons of family members, holding a conversation and making the
most of every moment we had together. My most favourite was tea time –
individuals would emerge from their respective rooms and pull up chairs around
the large family dining table. Soon a humongous china teapot covered with a tea
cozy would be brought out and never ending cups of tea would emerge from it.
And over the wafts of steam, conversation and laughter would flow as tea was
poured into saucers, cooled and then drunk.
When I see the kids of today with their attention
immersed solely in phones and gadgets rather than books, conversation and the
great outdoors, it makes cherish what I had growing up all the more. And I
know, that come what may, I wouldn’t trade it for anything or change a second of
it all.
