Ruchira takes us into the days of childhood and toys. The lost days of innocence and simple joys. An exclusive for Different Truths.

I have seen more than fifty revolutions during my time upon this planet. Yet quite often to get into a nostalgic mode regarding those golden, carefree happy sunshine filled days of my childhood. More particularly because of the toys and playthings we use to have mostly gone into oblivion so many decades later. A case of yielding old order changeth place to new.

The kids of today are not familiar with the tea sets and kitchen sets, those girls of my age played with. They came complete with crockery, made of plastic though, cutlery, cooking vessels and even a cooktop to boot.

Then there was the doctor’s set, a hot favourite of boys and girls, perhaps a motivation for them to take up this profession in their adult lives.

Commonplace Doll

I remember the familiar, commonplace doll with golden flaxen hair and green eyes, which blinked at the slightest jerk. The doll would squeak when you pressed her abdomen. She was the quintessential Memsahib clad in floral frock with no Indianness about her.

There were dolls in male avatars too though they did not blink or squeak. Apart from dolls there were other interesting toys that regaled us no end. For instance, there was this plastic hen that laid a round egg as soon as you pressed one of the legs.

We had another contraption made of tin and/or wood wherein the hens dipped their beaks to pick up grains from bowls as soon as you tugged at a cord attached below. The globally acclaimed Barbie Doll so hep and modern with a covetable and ultra slim figure was unheard of.

Wood Toys

Now, I surely miss the myriad toys curved out of wood – for wood was not so scarce those days – rolling boards and pins, go-carts, lollipops et al. Cones comprising rings of multiple sizes and hues with a human head at the apex. A device to teach counting.

There were snake charmers, couples in western attire, and country musicians. My peers will surely recall the wooden band party comprising 12 music players, a famous product of Varanasi, in UP state. It was almost a household item. Nearly every kid had a set of his/her own.

Apart from such mass-produced commercial toys, we had access to an entire range of what may be called Rag Dolls, fabricated out of old worn-out torn pieces of cloth. It was the monopoly of old grannies and spinster aunts, who were in most homes. It was a pleasurable, creative pastime besides some sort of recycling which is so much hyped about now-a-days. 

Rag Dolls

I was glad when one of my distant aunts who stayed with us for half a year custom made a set of Rag Dolls for me.  I cannot thank her enough.

The boys had their fair share of sturdy jeeps, railway train sets, and cars that surged forward following friction between their wheels and the ground. There were guns and pistols too.

Balloons

Those days the little ones were delighted when the grown-ups bought them balloons. The gas balloons were such a waste of money.  The moment you were a bit unmindful they flew away from your hand and soared the skies.

The balloons tied to thin sticks lasted longer, while the uninflated balloons were proper exercise for our face and cheeks, for it was a challenging task to blow into them and ensure they did not blast and finally sealing their mouth with string. 

In contrast modern kids have balloons which last over days and months.

Not far today’s kids are fond of simple toys, most of them are hooked onto electronic games and other complicated gizmos more complicated than their counterparts in earlier times.

Visuals by Different Truths

Ruchira Adhikari Ghosh

Born in Guwahati Assam, Ruchira grew up in Delhi and Punjab. A product of Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana, she holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Armed with a P.G diploma in journalism in Journalism, she has been a pen-pusher for nearly 25 years. Her chequered career encompasses print, web, as well as television. She has metamorphosed as a feature writer, her forte being women’s issues, food, travel and literature.

See Full Bio