My Childhood Days

ये दौलत भी ले लो, ये शोहरत भी ले लो,  ........  Whatever I could manage to earn.
भले छीन लो मुझसे मेरी जवानी । ......... It has already Diappeared!
मगर मुझको लौटा दो बचपन का सावन,
वो कागज़ की कश्ती, वो बारिश का पानी ।।

और ........

वो छत पर का सोना सुनते कहानी ।
वो आँगन में रख्खी खटिया पुरानी ।
वगैरा वगैरा .............

Many of us have spent our childhood days in villages or small towns in India in 1950s or 60s. Life was very much different in those days. Even though we are now enjoying a lot of comforts and some luxuries available these days, we feel nostalgic about those golden old days when life was relatively tough but more secure, peaceful, love-full and enjoyable. These feelings are nicely expressed in a Punjabi poem contributed by Shri Tasweer Singh. A number of responses were received, some remembering bye gone days and some lamenting the change that has taken place not only in cities but also in rural areas.

Two more beautiful poems added on 04/06/2016 at the end.
ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ....

दादी माँ बनाती थी.. रोटी !!

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Tasweer Singh :
मंजीया (चारपाई)ते बैंदे सी,
कोल कोल रेंदे सी
सोफे बैड आ गये ने,
दूरियां वधा गये ने
वेड़े विच रुख(पेड़) सी,
सांझे दुख सुख सी ।
छत्ता ते न सोन्दे हुन ,
गलां  वि न पान्दे हुन ।।
बुआ खुल्ला रेन्दा सी,
राही वी आ बैन्दा सी ।
कौवे वी कुरलान्दे सी,
परौणे वी घर आन्दे सी ।
साईकिल ही कोल सी,
ता वी मेल जोल सी।
रिश्ते निभान्दे  सी,
रूसदे मनान्दे सी।
पैसा भांवे घट सी,
पर मत्थे ते न वट सी ।
कन्दा कोले (दीवारें,खिड़कीया) कच्चे सी
पर साक (रिश्ते) सारे सच्चे सी।
शायद कुज पाया है,
ते बोहता कुज गवाया है।

--------------------

Translation and comments by Shri Ravi Mago

Dear Taswir has sent  such a nice and touching poem .
I thought it  would be much better if  ALL our members ( especially non Hindi speaking ) are able to understand  and appreciate..
I would therefore attempt to transliterate , to the best of my ability.The rhyme maybe absent or
 the 'meter' may not be accurate  but surely the feelings would be conveyed.

I give below the meaning in English after each sentence.


मंजीया (चारपाई)ते बैंदे सी,
कोल कोल रेंदे सी
We all used to sit  close to each other on the cot
सोफे बैड आ गये ने,
दूरियां वधा गये ने
The coming of sofa beds has only increased the distance or the gap.
वेड़े विच रुख(पेड़) सी,
सांझे दुख सुख सी ।
There was a tree in the quadrangle and we all used to share our joys and sorrows.
छत्ता ते न सोन्दे हुन ,
गलां  वि न पान्दे हुन ।।
Now we do not  sleep on terrace, cannot  talk
बुआ खुल्ला रेन्दा सी,
राही वी आ बैन्दा सी ।
The main door used to remain open,  even a passer by would come in and rest.
कौवे वी कुरलान्दे सी,
परौणे वी घर आन्दे सी ।
Crows used to caw caw, guests used to walk in
साईकिल ही कोल सी,
ता वी मेल जोल सी।
 Although one used to own only a bicycle, still there was a camaraderie
रिश्ते निभान्दे  सी,
रूसदे मनान्दे सी
The relations were meant to carried forward and we would cajole the annoyed .
पैसा भांवे घट सी,
पर मत्थे ते न वट सी ।
Although there was paucity (or dearth ) of money,
it never showed on our forehead
कन्दा कोले (दीवारें,खिड़कीया) कच्चे सी
पर साक (रिश्ते) सारे सच्चे सी।
The walls and the windows were not very rigid or firm,
but the relationships were true and faithful.
शायद कुज पाया है,
ते बोहता कुज गवाया है।
Perhaps, we have achieved  'something',
but have lost a lot in this  process.

Dear Taswir, Bear with me if the 'exact' feeling has not not been conveyed .
Regards,
Mago

P.S.
Sometime back , I had posted something similar;
In olden days ,the main door/gate had a sign board "YOU ARE WELCOME "
These the the board reads " BEWARE OF DOG "

Above is narration of days during childhood when resources with the family were bare minimum but intensity of love with neighbours, friends and relatives was much more.
The crux of the panjabi- hindi poem is if we have got something, we have lost much more.......
-----------------------------------------
 Some brief comments:
Shri Taswir Singh's poem...superb...yes has reminded many of us our childhood

Ref Shri Mago's post, these days some time u may see the sign board reading as "DOG LIVES HERE.  ENTER at YOUR RISK". Obviously, it refers to perhaps the house owner.....

Jindgi tan changi hai
Par kadae kadae purania yaadan  vi  chatae aa jaundia han. ..

Punjab which bitya hoya bachpan yaad aa giya
Hun naa te vo panjab hai naa o bachpan
Phir vee jindgi changee hai

Fantastic recreation of our childhood; very nostalgic and emotional. Reminds of song  'Koai Lota De Mairai Bitte Huai Din'

After a very very v.... long time  I could read such an excellent poem .Even though you are not the writer of the poem ,but the credit goes to you for making it available to us for reading and enjoying.

Very heart touching reflection of by-gone days.
-----------------
Anand Ghare:
Thanks Tasweer for giving such a nice poem. As I have spent a lot of time Punjabi mundaonde wich, I could understand most of it.Thanks Mago to clarify it further.  
The open door culture was not a specialty of Punjab alone. We used to keep our doors open through out the day and welcome people coming in unannounced even in Karnataka. Those were the days when we lived without the fear of somebody barging in and causing us any harm or stealing something. Famous Marathi writer P L Deshpande used to call living in self contained flats as बंद दरवाजा संस्कृति. 'Closed Door Culture' and was very critical about it.
Any way gone are the days of our childhood. Now we may not be able to talk to many people personally, not sitting close to each other on a Charpai, nor under the shadow of a Tree in the Chowk, but we are able to get connected on internet with many more people. I do not think we have distanced ourselves too much from others because of our new concept of 'Space'  So let us be happy.
-------------------
 Thottappilly Premachandran :
Beautifully crafted poem. The open door policy may be in every villages of India, and Kerala was not an exception.Borrowing and giving is another habit which made the relations much warmer. Now no one wants to depend on their neighbour and even friendly visits are becoming rare.
--------------------
Taswir Singh:
In metropolitan city like Mumbai, where most of the apartments are flat type this open door culture may not be possible but still once for some time I followed it in Anushakti Nagar and it worked and believe me my amount of happiness increased and tension reduced.
Similarly after retirement luckily I am able to follow this policy as mine is row type house and full size widows with only grills and having no slides doors. For many years door was grill type only.
This way I am able to enjoy the childeren playing and lively life in the lane.
Also security feeling is enhanced.
I think if people leave hesitation at least where residents are from the same background grilldoor policy can be practised.
In most of the cases level of happiness, feeling of oneness will increase with added advantage of secured feeling.
----------------------

Chakraborthy:
I THINK OPEN DOOR POLICY IS STILL THERE IN KERALA. I COULD NOT FIND ANY BOUNDARY WALL BUILT AROUND THE HOUSES THERE.

Premchandran:
Unfortunately it is not true fully. The people in Kerala are now building houses with compound and many doors are remaining closed with very few elderly inmates. Kerala is rapidly getting westernized and combined family is fast disappearing.
What pains me is the changing traditions. Every house had a pond and with the cost of land skyrocketing, people had filled it and planted coconut trees. The ponds had ensured availability of water in summer . Many Keralites worship snake God and in our family we had three to four snake deity installed at various corners of our land. Over a period of time, lot of trees grows around the place and now each has become a small forest. It gives us a cool surroundings. Now a days this is also fast disappearing.
When I watch my little grandson trapped in a small flat with no one other than his parents to play I  can only envy my childhood .

K. Balakrishnan :

It is true.None of the doors are opened now a days. If you keep opened, you will not see anything in the house. There are no one expect elderly people in one of the rooms. If you happened to be away from  your house one or two days, you can expect house burglary. None of the neighbours will come out of their houses, if they hear any sound also due to fear or otherwise. If you see local papers daily , you can see at least 10 house braking/chain stanching etc Most of them are aged between 18-25 years school/cpllege children.
Most of old tharavadu is divided separately and constructed  houses for nuclear families  They don't have time / not interested to do anything as well as they won't get anybody to do any work.  Most of them started moving for flats .  Since they are staying separately, the grand children are forced to be alone in the house sometimes. You cannot enjoy the older days now.

------------------------------
 Shri.Mohan Rao
 I fully appreciate your point of view. As I child, I lived within a school compound (as my grand pa was the builder/manager of the school)in a small village hamlet. We had an open door policy and children used to wander into the house often for a glass of water. There was lot of action in the daytime: children trying get mangoes and other fruitys from the large orchid we had, playground PA classes through-out the day, after-school cricket in the maidan, etc etc. The only negative side was that I had to change clothes every night, because of the dust from the ground used to soil our clothes pretty much all the time. My mother also got asthma which I attributed to aggravated dust levels. Overall, it was an ambience that we all enjoyed, particularly my grandfather for whom the school was his life’s legacy as well.

Tasweer Singh
Thanks respected Mohanrao ji for sharing your childhood experience of keeping the compound wall doors open. It is but natural that some disadvantage got incurred the like soiling of clothes and enhanced asthma to your mother but as stated by you it gave more ambience and happy experience.
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Added on 04/06/2016

P.D.Sharma :
कमीज के बटन ऊपर नीचे लगाना
वो अपने बाल खुद न काढ पाना
पी टी शूज को चाक से चमकाना
वो काले जूतों को पैंट से पोछते जाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
.😊😊😊😊😊
.-'-
वो बड़े नाखुनो को दांतों से चबाना
और लेट आने पे मैदान का चक्कर लगाना
वो prayer के समय class में ही रुक जाना
पकडे जाने पे पेट दर्द का बहाना बनाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
.😊😊😊😊😊-'-
.
वो टिन के डिब्बे को फ़ुटबाल बनाना
ठोकर मार मार उसे घर तक ले जाना
साथी के बैठने से पहले बेंच सरकाना
और उसके गिरने पे जोर से खिलखिलाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
.😊😊😊😊😊
.
गुस्से में एक-दूसरे की
कमीज पे स्याही छिड़काना
वो लीक करते पेन को बालो से पोछते जाना
बाथरूम में सुतली बम पे अगरबती लगा छुपाना
और उसके फटने पे कितना मासूम बन जाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
.😊😊😊😊😊😊
.
वो games period के लिए sir को पटाना
unit test को टालने के लिए उनसे गिडगिडाना
जाड़ो में बाहर धूप में class लगवाना
और उनसे घर-परिवार के किस्से सुनते जाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
.😊😊😊😊
वो बेर वाली के बेर चुपके से चुराना
लाल –काला चूरन खा एक दूसरे को जीभ दिखाना
जलजीरा , इमली देख जमकर लार टपकाना
साथी से आइसक्रीम खिलाने की मिन्नतें करते जाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
😊😊😊😊😊
वो लंच से पहले ही टिफ़िन चट कर जाना
अचार की खुशबूं पूरे class में फैलाना
वो पानी पीने में जमकर देर लगाना
बाथरूम में लिखे शब्दों को बार-बार पढके सुनाना
😔ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ...
.😊😊😊😊
वो exam से पहले गुरूजी के चक्कर लगाना
लगातार बस important ही पूछते जाना
वो उनका पूरी किताब में निशान लगवाना
और हमारा ढेर सारे course को देख चकराना
😔 ऐ मेरे स्कूल मुझे जरा फिर से तो बुलाना ..
.😊😊😊😊.
😔
वो मेरे स्कूल का मुझे यहाँ तक पहुचाना
और मेरा खुद में खो उसको भूल जाना
बाजार में किसी परिचित से टकराना
वो जवान गुरूजी का बूढ़ा चेहरा सामने आना ...v
😔 🙏 🙏
तुम सब अपने स्कूल एक बार जरुर जाना .....
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P.D.Sharma :

दादी माँ बनाती थी.. रोटी !!

पहली.. गाय की ,
और  आखरी.. कुत्ते की..!

हर सुबह.. नन्दी आ जाता था ,
दरवाज़े पर.. गुड़ की  डली के लिए..!

कबूतर का.. चुग्गा ,
        चीटियों.. का आटा..!

शनिवार, अमावस, पूर्णिमा का सीधा.. सरसों का तेल ,
गली में.. काली कुतिया के ब्याने पर.. चने गुड़ का प्रसाद..!

सब कुछ.. निकल आता था !

वो भी उस घर से..,
जिसमें.. भोग विलास के नाम पर.. एक टेबल फैन भी न था..!

आज..
सामान से.. भरे घरों में..
कुछ भी.. नहीं निकलता !
सिवाय लड़ने की.. कर्कश आवाजों के.!
....हमको को आज भी याद है -
मकान चाहे.. कच्चे थे
लेकिन रिश्ते सारे.. सच्चे थे..!!

चारपाई पर.. बैठते थे ,
दिल में प्रेम से.. रहते थे..!

सोफे और डबल बैड.. क्या आ गए ?
     दूरियां हमारी.. बढा गए..!

छतों पर.. सब सोते थे !
बात बतंगड.. खूब होते थे..!

आंगन में.. वृक्ष थे ,
सांझे.. सबके सुख दुख थे..!

दरवाजा खुला रहता था ,
राही भी.. आ बैठता था...!

कौवे छत पर.. कांवते थे
मेहमान भी.. आते जाते थे...!

एक साइकिल ही.. पास था ,
फिर भी.. मेल जोल का वास था..!

रिश्ते.. सभी निभाते थे ,
रूठते थे , और मनाते थे...!

पैसा.. चाहे कम था ,
फिर भी..
माथे पे.. ना कोई गम था..!

मकान चाहे.. कच्चे थे ,
पर..रिश्ते सारे सच्चे थे..!!

अब शायद..सब कुछ पा लिया है !
पर..
लगता है कि.. बहुत कुछ गंवा दिया!!!

‼💎‼🐚🔔🐚‼💎‼