One question that I dread from little Aditi is..."बाबा, बोर होतंय... मी काय करू? (Papa, am getting bored.. What should I do?)"
Today morning over breakfast, I was reminiscing with Arti that our childhood had no place for boredom. And this was during the time when weekend outing didn't exist as a concept, TV had exactly two channels, hoteling was a special occasion that we looked forward to, and movies were something we had to negotiate and obtain prior permission for.
Yet, there there was ample to do. I had books to read. When we were not fighting with each other, my brother Saurabh and I played together. Weekends were spent in watching TV and playing outdoor sports with friends like Dattaprasad, Saeesh, Vibhav and many others. Long vacations were occasions to spend with cousins Kapil, Swarup, etc.
Parents never asked, "Beta, bore ho raha hai kya?"...And, if they did ask and we said yes, am sure the response would invariably be, "Why don't you study?"
We were expected to keep ourselves busy, and we did.
With this background, to see the kids today -- including our little Aditi -- get bored with all the gadgets, outings, and everything else, is perplexing. Perhaps boredom is an internal state of mind, rather than the environment...
Today morning over breakfast, I was reminiscing with Arti that our childhood had no place for boredom. And this was during the time when weekend outing didn't exist as a concept, TV had exactly two channels, hoteling was a special occasion that we looked forward to, and movies were something we had to negotiate and obtain prior permission for.
Yet, there there was ample to do. I had books to read. When we were not fighting with each other, my brother Saurabh and I played together. Weekends were spent in watching TV and playing outdoor sports with friends like Dattaprasad, Saeesh, Vibhav and many others. Long vacations were occasions to spend with cousins Kapil, Swarup, etc.
Parents never asked, "Beta, bore ho raha hai kya?"...And, if they did ask and we said yes, am sure the response would invariably be, "Why don't you study?"
We were expected to keep ourselves busy, and we did.
With this background, to see the kids today -- including our little Aditi -- get bored with all the gadgets, outings, and everything else, is perplexing. Perhaps boredom is an internal state of mind, rather than the environment...
