Things May Change Time to Time, Memories Won't be Changed.Olden days are Golden days

Old is gold, it is always said. When I was a six-year old, some 45 years ago, my elders said their olden days were gold. Today, my son, who is around 25, says, “old is gold.”

I always wonder why each and everyone's olden days are better than their present life. Old songs and lyrics were good. Old movies were superb. Old clothings were of better quality. Old sarees were good. In the olden days, food was of high standards. Old vessels and dishes were of high quality.

Old teachers were excellent and they teach us morality. Old schools were better centres of learning. Old furniture pieces were more appealing. Old houses were user-friendly, airy and well ventilated and well planned. The old All India Radio entertained us all with high quality programmes. Old friendships were more reliable. Old wine was tasty. Why this old is best? Is it something to do with one's psyche? No. It cannot be  wished away simply like that. Old is, and was, really gold. But why?

Times are changing fast. Values are changing. Goodness is replaced and it is now caluculated by smartness to get on with life. We have become excessively more suspicious for no real reason. Today, we frisk everyone, inwardly at least. We take things with a pinch of salt. Though today's material comforts that could not even be dreamt of a decade ago  are aplenty, still something is amiss about life. What is it? Peace of mind? Happiness?

Peace prevailed earlier, despite wars. There was hope. There was trust.  There was belief. There was no clamour for things that one did not possess. The absence of those, that were not deemed essential to own, never made any difference to a happy life.

There was contentment. Competition was less cut-throat. There was concern, affection and true bonding. There was togetherness. More important, people were patient. No doubt, there were poverty and scarcity and difficulty. But there was beauty in life and unity among all. Disputes were quickly  sorted out. Courts had fairly less business.

When China invaded us in the early 1960s, there was acute rationing of essentials. Sugar disappeared. But people were happy with jaggery. Wheat replaced rice in many south Indian families as a one-time staple food. Fasting and starving were daily affairs. People helped each other. There was  people went without power for days on end.

Families were big and joint family was the norm. There were guests to partake of food and there was readiness to share whatever one had. Rains were original and smiles were natural. Air was fresh. There were few privileges to enjoy. Yet life was complete, meaningful and wholesome. People lent money to the needy without documents.  Times were timeless. Values were invaluable and principles were priceless.

The main door of our house,  was never locked except during night. Windows were open 24 hours of the day. There were no double grills for the main door. We knew everyone in the town, though by nicknames (with a relation like uncle,aunt,etc,.). Today, not knowing the neighbour is an etiquette. Privacy is mistaken for liberty and freedom. One is compelled to look at the tenants list in the apartment complex to know about the neighbours caged in the matchbox apartments.

If it was lunch time, the guest would join us. Strangely, there was always enough food at home at least for one guest. Guests never brought their soaps, towels, hair oil or shaving sets. Visitors came with the minimum and left with the maximum that we could afford and spare for them. Today, it is “me and mine” culture. A guest is the most unwelcome person, more so when the favourite TV serial is on.

We all walked to the school, miles away, barefoot in the scorching sun. We never felt the pain. There were tragedies in families. People took them in their stride. No one rushed to the tv media. The media were more responsible and mature. Silly stories were never entertained. There was no sensationalism. Natural calamities did occur and sufferings were more severe. Yet people breathed easy. There were not many telephones. Mobiles were non-existent. Yet, people conversed joyously.

There were no high-cc two-wheelers. Yet friends met each other every day. There were no superfast trains or luxary buses. (leave the planes). A 40 km travel took 3 hrs. Yet none complained. Doctors were few and far between. Diseases were many. No Corporate hospitals, leave alone super-speciality facilities, for miles and miles.

There was give and take, and there were real tears during hard times. Roads were free of flashy four-wheelers. Dresses were tailor-made and not readymade. Hoteliers served fresh food. Food was never refrigerated. Fruit juices were fresh.Home food was oven-hot, never re-heated.

Today, it is use and throw, be it a battery, a gadget, a gear, mother or father. Those days, it was use, remember and respect. Old homes of the past are old-age homes now.

Charity began at home then. Even beggars were dignified. They were humble and never greedy. People were self-made. They are self-centred now. Family elders were philosophers, guides and counsellors. Today, there are counsellors for every non-issue, at a price. Psychiatrists were unheard of then. Today, they proliferate, one for every two disturbed persons.

There was commitment in what one did those days.

There is commerce in every thing we do today. There are Valentine's Day, sisters day, fathers day, mothers day, friends day, doctors day, nurses day, husbands day, wives day, water day, sparrows day, diabetes day, AIDS day, TB day and every other day. There were only Mondays, Tuesdays and so on earlier. Forget the past, someone said. Why should one? Is it because the present is unbearable that the mind should not be tortured with the glory of the past? It is said not for nothing that old is gold.People may change,things may change but memories won't be changed.

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10-04-2018 12:42 pm