Childhood

What is childhood? The time when we feel curious about the pitter patter raindrops on the tiled roofs. The time when the poodle on the road makes us curious, The time when our mind is full of questions unaware whether it would be right to ask such a question in public. Childhood is the time when we don’t care about our dress, about what others are saying, the time when we don’t know how to pretend and just tell whatever comes to our mind. The time when life is really beautiful. When there is nothing but colours around us. The rainbow is a million coloured and not just seven colours.Truly childhood is something to be treasured.

But this is only one side of the coin. If you look around you will see that there are children from whom childhood is perhaps the saddest memory they could have. A street child who is born without a blanket to cover him, without a proper roof on his head. And the moment they are born they know that the entire family of so many brothers and sisters depends on him. Is the childhood a pleasure for them? Can they dream of looking at the nature around them? Do they have the pleasure of admiring the million coloured rainbow? Wondering about the pitter patter raindrops? Can they afford to ask questions without being scolded? Their day begins with abusive words and ends with the same.

I would still consider these children to be lucky compared to those children whose childhood is simply curbed down by the so called ‘grown ups’. The children who meets with the cold reply of ‘shut your mouth’ and ‘don’t talk much’ every time she asks a question. What is the use of childhood if we can’t ask the question that comes to our mind? Are the parents helping the children by killing their children’s amazement? Are they not driving into their head that life is all about following the rules made by some grownups? Are they not killing the imagination of a child?

Truly a sad story…. But how can we make our adults understand that we need to know our surroundings better and what other way is there but to question them? I have been lucky enough to grow up among people who have answered my questions and are still answering them. This is a small life with a lot to know. Every moment is a new story. Every moment is full of questions. We should live this life on this beautiful planet with a blank mind to soak up everything and broad eyes to observe everything. This is what childhood is all about. Be a child, observe your surroundings, ask questions and if there is no one to answer them try to find it out for yourselves. Be a child and try to remain so when it comes to imagination.