For all of us who have crossed our mid-lives or hovering close to it, the annual school summer vacation used to be one the most anticipated and coveted pleasures. I guess, it still is among the other school children now. But what has definitely changed greatly is the nature of the summer vacation and the accompanied joie-de-vivre.
For us, the period was almost always fixed – a solid 45-day period usually starting from May first week and culminating at around June second week. Summer vacation was when there was a curtain call to school in the real sense. There was hardly any studies or summer holiday homework as we were growing up and it was a proper break from school, studies, and teachers. Plans of visiting maternal and paternal grandparents were definitely on the list and train tickets were booked well in advance to avoid the summer rush. Aunts, uncles and cousins from different corners of the country used to gather in one of the grandparents’ houses filled with at least two weeks of pure joy, fun, laughter and mischief.
I and my two brothers almost always used to visit both sets of grandparents during our summer holidays. The summers spent there are replete with cherished memories of being pampered, relishing the most delicious food, mangoes, romping with more than 10 cousins, late night chatting and what not! We would all gather at the ancestral house of our paternal grandmother every year and the fun would begin. Group games, both indoors and outdoors, stealing mangoes from the tress, tasting pickles on the terrace, savouring home-made lassi, watching endless movies till late at night on the VHS player were among the non-stop activities.
What also stood out was the daily ritual of laying makeshift beds on the floor during bedtime for all the children and the clamour to select the best places in the extended bed rolls! Some of us also used to sleep under the stars in the cool air of the vast open courtyard, which is unheard of now.
A high point of the vacation used to be the visit to our ancestral village where the boys would go berserk in the pond. There would be fishing, mango plucking, fresh mutton curry, the preparation of which would be especially supervised by my uncle. It would be followed by a nap in the afternoon on the cool and welcoming earthen floor and then enjoying the fireflies in the evening. The end of the visit was often marked by a sad feeling for having lost something precious. Gifts and sweets used to be packed at the end of the trip and I remember, all my cousins and aunts accompanying us to the bus station to bid us good bye.
The vacation continued with the next stop at my maternal grandparents’ house which often coincided with the annual Raja festival celebrations. My grandmother particularly would go all out to make it a special there-days for me and my cousin sisters. New dresses would be purchased, the swing would be fixed on either the jackfruit or the mango tree and the mandatory poda pitha would be baked in the earthen challah the night before. My grandmother insisted that all mandatory rituals were followed and we girls enjoyed all the pampering, attention and festivities.
Back at home during the long summer hours we didn’t have any schedule or time table to follow. Reading story books, pursuing our interest and hobbies, extended play time and long chats with our gang of friends were enough to keep us occupied. Boredom was never a problem but was used as a pursuit to venture out or do something creative. Since all the children used to be together at home, there were bound to be fights and squabbles among we siblings. I remember our father making the afternoon nap compulsory to prevent such breakouts. The windows would be shut, rooms be darkened and mats spread on the floor as we were asked to quieten and take the mandatory afternoon nap. Many a times sleep deluded us and we spend the time fidgeting, nudging and lightly kicking each other!
Summers during those days were not as harsh as today but were still marked by the oppressive heat and stupor. But that didn’t prevent us, children and youngsters, from relishing it and venturing out in search of adventures. Unlike today, we were hardly indoors or protected except for the peak sunny hours. The end of the summer vacation used to be sad, yet welcoming. All of us fresh and excited to restart school and meet our friends after a hiatus of nearly 45 days.
When my children hear of my summer vacation stories, they are envious and grumble about their insipid summer vacation. Their summers are marked by early vacations, online classes, scheduled swimming, art and sport classes, tuitions and of course, the deluge of holiday homework. Parents are busy keeping their children active and engaged during the summers. Most of the children are cooped up inside the cool interiors of air-conditioned rooms and venture out only during late evenings. Watching television, browsing the Internet, endless social media scrolling and creating content is how most kids spend their holidays now.
The vacation is indeed marked by travel to a hill station or a touristy destination but rarely to family homes or ancestral and family villages. Cousins and close relatives are too busy or far off to gather in family homes as often as they used to earlier. The get- togethers are organised over a lunch or dinner and there’s hardly any opportunity for extended camaraderie. Youngsters prefer enjoying in the cool climes and modern ambience of shopping malls and movie halls. There are hardly any group of friends for children in the neighbourhood (unless one is staying in an apartment complex) to spend extended play time. The responsibility of planning and managing the children’s time and addressing their boredom falls largely on parents which is tough for working parents.
Ironically, the pattern, nature and elements of summer holidays of yore have undergone sea change. Except perhaps for the school vacation per se, the heat and mangoes, almost everything has changed now. The summers have changed and so have the nature of the vacation.
The pressures and complexities of modern life today have obliterated the simple yet lasting pleasures of summer vacations. Sadly, children are so busy attending summer camps, other classes and completing their holiday homework that they struggle to narrate any distinct and special memories of the summers. Unlike today, there was no pressure on us to make our summer holidays productive and purposeful. It was a break in the true sense – unstructured, fluid, enjoyable, unsupervised and invigorating.
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