I guess we were in a sense the generation where finer things in life started to take roots. Let me explain !!. North India, if not all of India, was ravaged and destroyed by the partition. Millions of people displaced in 1947. Even in a sleepy town like Faridabad, the impact must have been palpable. The town took years coming back to a normalcy. This was especially true for the families uprooted from west Punjab. Starting a new life in and around Delhi took a decade or more. Fortunately, the people were so hard working and proud that they excelled. Our older siblings, however, must have lost out on a lot. They had to make do with very little. Then came the sixties, the time of our childhood. and things started to flourish. Instead of pooja and "maatha tekna" in the temple on birthdays, we started to have birthday parties. We actually started having school field trips and asking to be taken on picnics. Yet from today's extravagant and ostentatious display standards, those days were simply frugal. We would be so excited to get ONE toy on each occasion, such as festivals or birthdays. These toys were relatively inexpensive. As I alluded elsewhere, these could be toy cars, wind up toys,comic books, ludo or snakes and ladders, spirograph or bat and ball ( or rarely a full cricket set). Outside toys like inflatable balls, or foot balls or creative toys like mouth organs/ hamonicas or flutes.
To me Birthdays were quite memorable, firstly because it was a relative novelty for the household. Secondly, because it was a day completely dedicated to Me or the birthday boy. Bakeries were a rarity and for a very long time, the local bakery, next to Prehlad Book Depot and Dr. Lakkha's "shop" only made huge cupcake shaped cakes. Each of those could only be enough for two three people. So sometimes we would have to get four five of those for the party. After a few years, as I got more demanding, cake was brought for me from Sethi Bakery in " 4 Number" ( NH 4) or from Karol Bagh in Delhi. Now that was a treat !!!. Friends would be invited and standard gifts would be Glaxo Biscuit boxes, Morton Toffee cartons, a shirt and short "nicker" set. or similar things. Gift price range in 60s was 5 to 10 Rs. till we were in elementary and middle school. The anticipation of a " different" type of gift was so exciting. Birthday cards were thought wasteful and quality was quite poor, so generally friends made those by hand. In addition to the cake, usually, there was the ubiquitous "Kissan Orange Squash" or Rooh Afzah, Tea for elders. Some home made sandwiches or pakora, samosas from who else " Tikaaya Ram". May be some boondi or ladoo or barfi. etc. Fruit chaat. Quite later, with advent of fridge, ice cream etc. Coke or Fanta were also a very late entrants. I am pretty sure, some of the current day millionnaires do cherish these memories.
Diwali was of course the big daddy of festivals. We would often get money from family and friends of family and relatives to buy things. We sometimes would have our own little home "shop" that sold toffees and other little things to brothers and sisters and friends. (That was a lot of fun). Ofen after a few days, either the "shop" got raided by a brother or we all just ate everything and closed shop. For now, keeping the childhood part in focus, more about different festivals and the festival atmosphere at another time. Going to the market every day for little things as "churan" and toffee or golgappas and mithai. It was quite common to get the daily "kharchi", the pocket money and go individually or as siblings to eat a piece of burfi or laddoo or jalebi straight from the shop. Drinking tea at a tea shop as a child was a big NO NO. !!. Tea shops were for older people and for slightly lower class folks.
In a striking contrast to the present, it was safe for children to go to 'bazaar' unaccompanied. Everything was "round the corner" or as I would say after learning bike riding only " do paddle door" ( only takes two paddles of the bike to get there). There was no fear of being run over by a truck or car. That would come much later. Side streets were used quite frequently for playing. The fun of "gully" games of Pithoo on the street, interrupted by people passing by or gulli danda and cricket. The scrapes and falls of hard surface were there as trophies on most knees. !! Kite flying. ?? That would have to wait for another day. How fun it was to come completely tired and fall asleep sometimes even before dinner was served. !! How many times, hot milk was given in bed to a sleepy child. !! Oh the fun of those days. Unforgettable, uncomparable !! : Koi lauta de mere beetay hue din !!!
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