Imagine for a moment you were born in 1900.
1914- When you're 14, World War I begins and ends when you're 18 with a 22 million dead.
1918 - Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, appears, killing 50 million people. And you're alive and 20 years old.
1929- When you're 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine.
1933- When you're 33 years old the nazis come to power.
1939- When you're 39, World War II begins and ends when you're 45 years old with a 60 million dead. In the Holocaust 6 million Jews die.
1952 - When you're 52, the Korean War begins.
1964 -When you're 64, the Vietnam War begins and ends when you're 75
A child born in 1985 thinks his grandparents have no idea how difficult life is, but they have survived several wars and catastrophes.
Today we meet all the comforts in a new world, amid a new pandemic.
People complain because for several weeks they must stay confined to their homes, they have electricity, cell phone, food, some even with hot water and a safe roof over their heads. None of that existed back in the day. But humanity survived those circumstances and never lost their joy of living.
Today we complain because we have to wear masks to enter supermarkets.
A small change in our perspective can generate miracles. We will thank you and I that we are alive and we will do everything we need to protect and help each other.
Author: Unknown
MY STORY:
I was born in 1946 in Port Blair Andamans (No one maintained Birth Certificates Post WW II and some one made the mistake of writing 1947 as my Birth year at school and that became my official B Day too as it is in my passport now).
There were no toilets connected to sewers, only Open Toilets and some one would come and collect the night soil wash the tins and put them back. No Water on Tap for Bathing. Every house had a water well dug at the back yard and we drew water from the well and bathed in cold water. All we had for news and music was the old Valve radio sets that crackled more that delivering good audio.,When Dads were listening to War News, Pin drop silence was expected. We children had to say hello Dad when he came home from work and disappear. No one ate dinner before Dad sat at the table out of respect for the head of the family. Grandmas and aunts looked after all babies when Mom was busy cooking and cleaning the house 24/7. Mom was also the school teacher as there were no schools post war. They came much later in the 50's. Sp;inning Tops with a string and some how picking it up and making it spin on ones hands was a big achievements. God knows who created Glass Marbles and we would kill to get hold of the best looking marbles. Playing snakes and ladders with elders and beating them was a great achievement that one could brag about... There was no electricity and every evening was a chore with Dad Lighting the Good Old Petromax lamps. Most kids today wont even know what a petromax lamp or a kerosene lamp was and how images and shadows moved every time the flame flickered. There were no Gas stoves or Microwave ovens or electric ovens of for that matter even fridges. Black and white movies were made in the early 50s in India and the first movie I ever watched at the cinemas was Awara starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis./ Boy was that a treat to remember for life and every one kn ew how to sing Awara Hoon, even the Russians and Turks. Often my mother used to call me to assist with the wooden stove. The wood was still green and wet and refused to burn but filled the home with smoke and made every one cough. Mum had to boil water and brew the tea and coffee decoctions first before boiling m,ilk separately and adding to the decoction after straining. Young Mothers today do nothing but complain or keep themselves busy talking non stop on the phones or watching CNN news on Corona and shed a few tears and expect the husband to cheer them up by cooking tasty meals. Most of us oldies knew to sing movie songs kids these days 90% of them cannot sing. Not only that despite all the education 90% cannot write using their hands. They need a key board as well as autocorrect as they do not know to spell properly. Todays kid wants a new smart phone costing a thousand dollars each year when a new model is launched. They even queue up outside the Apple and Samsung stores. You have to look at the birthday gifts a child receives when he turns One. We got one bar of Cadburys Chocolate to be shared with the entire family. We had to count the number of people and cut them into that number of pieces. Not that we were poor. Money had different values those days. One Rupee could but one Padi of Polished white rice. (Padi is probably about 2 1/2 litres in Volume) In 20920 you cannot by even one banana for One rupee especially in Cities in India.
