Nostalgic 90s

I must admit that it was a great time growing up in the 90s. And those who experienced childhood in that period would accept....that it was indeed a time, when a bicycle was the medium of transport for us, and scooters were monotonous. It was the time, when having a land-line phone made our chest swell with pride, and calling friends at their home land-line phone was a daily routine. Mobile phones had a heavy calling charge, on both incoming and outgoing calls...and were still in an infant stage, compared to pagers! Cable networks were a part of selected televisions. In school, talking to a girl meant you had an affair with her, getting punished was not yet an act of heroism, teachers were called 'miss' instead of ma'am, no matter howsoever old they were( quite a 'mis'nomer !)
If in the early teens of mine, 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' created an unusually rare scene of streets and railway platforms getting emptied around 9.00 pm, there was a kids version of this, in my childhood. Yes, during Sunday mornings at 10.00 am. It was the time for 'Jungle book'.....in which a 'yellow underwear-clad' junglee boy was our hero. His name was Mowgli. This collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling was a perfect start to our Sunday morning. Believe me, there was no child soul to be seen playing downstairs at 10.00 am on a Sunday morning Some years later, this was replaced by Disney hour, where Pluto ended up getting nothing, Uncle Scrooge aimed for a treasure hunt, Mickey and Minne mouse had a lovely affair, Donald Duck ended up getting bashed, and Goofy with his special tone captured our imagination. This was way before 'Cartoon Network' set its feet in India. Some years later, this typical Sunday morning had 'Mahabharat' at 11.30 am in the morning, and it became a moment for the entire family to be together glued to the television. I remember, myself watching this great epic in awe, with a secret admiration for 'Bhim'. He was my favorite character, and as such kids get influenced by strength.
In those 90s, cable television had not made a mark in my house. All entertainment was confined in two channels....DD National and DD Metro. I just can't imagine it now....only two channels in a television! But still, we enjoyed it. That was perhaps because, there were some television serials which complemented our feelings at that age. There was 'The Great Maratha' and 'Tipu Sultan' to generate a warrior feeling,while 'Mahabharat' and 'Jai Hanuman' had in them the much needed mythology. I remember, watching in awe, the fighting Mahadji Shinde, in the battle of Panipat, so also I remembered, the 'gadayuddha' between Bhim and Duryodhan, which ultimately ends in the latter death. In the fourth standard, Myself and one of my friends, on every Monday morning in school, would discuss what happened the previous day in 'Mahabharat' and used to render those dialogues loudly. I wonder, how many students today would have these topics to discuss in their classroom.
Who would forget the detective serials 'Tehkikaat', where Detective Sam Desilva and his assistant Gopi, would nab thieves, much within the limits of fantasy. This serial was then replaced by 'Raja aur Ranchho', where perhaps for the first time, a monkey assisted the detective in solving criminal cases. If these were the representatives of the detective serials, comedy serials were not far behind, rather a step ahead. I cannot forget a young Shekhar Suman in 'Dekh bhai dekh', followed by 'Zaban sambhal ke', where Pankaj Kapoor attempts to teach Hindi to a diverse non-Hindi students. Then came, 'Shrimaan Shrimati', where a hilarious Jatin Kanakia made us role over the floor with laughter. It was unfortunate that Jatin died an early death, otherwise he would have acted in many more such comical serials. And who would forget the 'tu tu main main' between Reema and Supriya? I would also never forget 'the battles between 'He-Man' and 'Skeleton' telecasted every Friday.
There were many more serials, which should find a mention here.....notably 'Chandrakanta', 'Shaktimaan', 'Jaldi Jaldi', 'Tiger', 'Junoon', 'Vijay'....for which I had a glimpse, but could not watch them in a whole. But their memories sometimes erupt up. All these in those two channels!!!
One of the striking memories of the 90s, which are preserved, thanks to youtube, are the television advertisements. These made an impact on everybody so much, that there would be hardly a person, who doesn't remember 'Hamara Bajaj'....who has forgotten the sweet little child saying 'jalebi', in the 'Dhara' commercial. And one of my favorite commercials was the 'poorab se sooraj uga', which emphasized the importance of education! The beautiful tune, in raag Bhatiyar, still lingers in my mind. How lively is the expression of the grandfather in this commercial, when he sees the same boy whom he taught to read and write in his childhood, now painting sign-boards and earning a living. Then came a young girl with dimples in the 'liril' soap advertisement and later became Priety Zinta. And then there was also a young girl saying "I Love you Rasna'. And the complan boys and girls, who later went on to become Shahid kapoor and Ayesha Takia. And then the famous dialogue....'Yeh baat kuch hajab nahi hui'...and immediately followed by 'hajmola sir!' And the rabbit excaiming 'Lijjat Papad'! And who will forget the old man with strong teeth attributing this to Vicco Vajradanti..!!!! And the girl, freely dancing in a cricket ground, eating Cadbury, when her boyfriend hits a century. And finally, the dialogue....'yeh fevicol ka jod hain...tutega nahi'....seriosuly....how natural these advertisements were...how creative.
And would like to specially mention the creative 'fillers' that were created between the television serials. How can we forget the array of talented, greatest artists singing 'Mile sur mera tumhara', which used to make me run from nowhere to the television to just hear those melodious voices. There was attempt to re-create the 'Mile Sur', with new artists, but according to me, it has no such effects as the older version. Then the athletes of India, running with the fire flame, where I used to have a special feeling seeing Sunil Gavaskar. How resonant was the running of P.T Usha shown in this ,when she runs alongside the running deer. And then the very melodious 'Baje Sargam'. In short, the decade was very creative, I would say.
We often accuse our parents and grandparents of not understanding us and sticking to the old principles. We often think, that these guys don't want to change. But, then as I remembered this decade of my childhood, immediately I started comparisons with the children of today. I immediately felt, aah..my childhood was better..these guys are not as innocent as me ( in terms of childhood of course!)....there is a lack of creativity everywhere blah blah blah. Myself, only two decades and a couple of years old....started to feel my childhood was better than the children today...so, what is wrong if the adults think so! But then, that is nostalgia...that is attachment...and that is what me and many of my age have for this decade!! This beautiful decade, which lingers in our mind, not only because it was creative in its content, but also because our childhood was associated with it!!!