Then and Now

Few days back my son Appu came to me and said ,"Amma , you need to buy me a new toy .It is just Rs.500/-"

I was surprised and asked him ,"Do you know how much is Rs.500?"

Appu nodded his head and said,"Yes, Yes"

I said ," I dont have money to waste for all these. You are now 8 years. No need of all these costly toys. ."

Appu ,"No , no. You have money amma. You get money from ATM. You are simply telling lies"

I said ," Money does not come just like that from ATM. My company has to deposit my salary in my account. I do have lot of expenses this month for some wood work and all. So , forget about toy. You need to understand the value of money , Appu"

Appu ,"Okay..Okay.."

I kept wondering..When did I ask for Rs.500/- to my parents ? In college ? That too to buy books ? When did I see Rs.500/- currency ? Most likely when I was in college.

I said ,"Appu , do you know how Amma used to go to school? I used to go by walking. All the 10 years I studied in school , I used to walk to my school. My primary school was 1.5 Km away from my house . My UP School was again 1.5 km away and my high school was almost 4 km away . Still I used to walk to high school. Primary and UP Schools, I used to walk bare foot. I got a pair of sandals when I was in high school"

Appu ,Surprised "Walking and that too without Sandal !! Why Amma , ammamma and acchachan( my parents ) did not have any money to send you by school bus"

I " School bus ? Those days , we have not even heard about school bus. Our school was a normal Malayalam Medium school with no fees ( Or Rs.5 per year..Dont remember). There was no school bus ...But we had good teachers"

Appu,"Did you have swimming pool in the school , like mine"

I laughed and said ,"Swimming pool ? We have water streams and paddy fields on both the sides of the road as we walk to the school."

Appu ,"Do you know swimming ?"

I ," Yes"

Appu" How did you learn ?"

I "I learnt by myself when I was 6 years old. Have you seen the pond in achappa's house (my grandmother)..There I learnt myself"

Appu," You learnt yourself ? We have swimming coach in our school. Did you have swimming costume and goggles like mine"

I " Ha ha.. Those days we did not know of any such costume. I did not even have a good school bag , forget about swimming costume. I still remember , you know, those days , children used to carry a big square box made of steel to carry books. I had so much of a desire to own one. But never I could have my dream fulfilled. As you said , achacha and ammamma (my parents) did not have money for anything other than giving us 3 times food ."

Appu ," Did you have a lunch box ? What snacks you used to carry to school ? Biscuits, cakes ,pizza ,burger?"

I ," Curd rice my son..What else ? We had n't even seen biscuits unless for occasions like marriages. Pizza and Burger - Were they available those days? I dont know. See , everyday you take snacks to school . But half of it you waste . You have different kinds of biscuits at home..But you dont want any one of them. I have to be after you for hours to make you eat something."

Appu,"Okay..Okay..but now you have money , no?"

I " It does not come just like that. Amma studied and got a job . You also need to study well. We have never seen toys those days. Look ,your room is full of toys. But still you want more and more. Just to use for a couple of days and then throw.."

Appu,"You did not have toys also ? Then how you used to play"

I ,"We play hide and seek like you . We also play shop keeper game. For that ,we used to make weighing balance with strings and coconut shells. Then we used to make houses with small sticks and with roof made of leaves. All that.. . Appu , amma is not telling that you also need to struggle like me. But you need to understand the value of money.

There are so many children in the streets who dont go to school, who struggle to eat at least once in a day. Some of those children dont have mother or father..We should thank God for all the comfort we have and we also need to understand the value of food , money , studies etc..Okay..?

Dont know whether my son understood fully..Might have understood partly.

To a great extent I am also responsible for creating this abundance and my son not realising the value of it. Yes, this generation is different. Their needs are different. But yes , it is also equally important for them to at least understand the harsh realities of life too..