It feels good to have been born in 1980s. In these 30 years of life, we have seen a lot. It won’t be wrong if we say that we have been the most adaptive generation of all times!! Read through for the list of things that have evolved infront of us, which we have seen, accepted, learnt and un-learnt in our small lifetime. It makes us proud to be born in the 80s.
- Photography
We would go to a studio to get a family photo clicked. The first camera we owned had reels/black film, which had the limitation of the number of photos one could click. And yes, they were black & white photos. From that to colour photo reel cameras, big to sleek cameras, cameras with flash to digital cameras to now SLRs. From the stage where only the elders could use the camera (which would come out of the safe on special occasions) to now the constant clicking of selfies, we have seen our images taking various shapes!
- Driving
We have enjoyed riding our bicycles for years. Getting our hands on the latest cycle would call for celebration. From cycles we graduated to scooters. Most boys would have learnt driving on the Bajaj scooter their father owned. Women friendly Kinetic and Scooty came and then Maruti 800. Owning a Maruti 800 was a symbol of pride. We have actually experienced the sense of accomplishment and family pride while moving from one vehicle to the other.
- Drinks
The ubiquitous banta or badam milk was every child’s delight. Whenever we went to someone’s house, we didn’t expect anything else other than Roohafza or Rasna to be served. The cola market suddenly hit and attending weddings became fun because we got to drink this amazing fizzy drink. The home cold drink makers started selling and we enjoyed filling & re-filling the soda in these machines! It didn’t match the actual taste, and the cold drink bottles and crates started coming home. From that time to now canned juices and bottled soda lemonades, it’s been a quenching journey.
- Games
We still recall with pride our prowess in playing the fun games of Raja-Mantri-Chor-Sipahi, Name-Place-Animal-Thing, Stapoo, Ghar-Ghar and many more such weird name games! We didn’t have TVs or internet to pass our times and hence we would stay up long at the park or friend’s house. Video games came in front of us. If some kid’s father bought him Atari, then his house became our play house. From loving getting drenched in sweat to now protected AC environments, the way children’s games have evolved is amazing.
- Television
From no TV sets in houses, to black & white to colour TVs to cable and now HD and smart TVs! It’s been a roller coaster ride for us viewers. From No choice to plethora of choices, we have literally seen the evolution of this space in front of our eyes. Wonder if we have ever enjoyed watching anything on TV these days, the way we enjoyed watching Vikram-Betaal, Flop Show, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Chitrahaar, Ramayan etc. Or even enjoyed singing the Mowgli song, Ek Chidiyan-Anek Chidiyan and Mile Sur Mera Tumhara!
- Phones
No Phones to an ancient looking black dial phone to push button phone to cordless to mobile phones to touch phones to smartphones. And yes, the pagers! This journey from telephone exchanges to now data has helped us un-earth this communication channel by leaps and bounds.
- Computers
From studying about Charles Babbage and playing Pac Man in computer classes (the only room in the school which had ACs), we have efficiently learnt and un-learnt MS-DOS. The heavy desktops to laptops to pads, we feel proud to have mastered the art of Solitaire and floppy disks with as much ease as hard drives and cloud commuting!
- Internet
From noting answers from copies of the seniors to now checking Google for the best answers, we successfully lived in an age when internet was almost non-existent. It is hard to believe for children born after 2000 that such an era existed! Social Networking to us was roaming about with our slambooks asking our friends to fill it, maintaining a lock diary which captured our thoughts and moving around with the best looking address book which had the landline numbers of our friends!
- Traveling
We have stood up in long queues at Railway reservation counter just to be told at the last minute that the form is not correctly filled! That time even travelling by an AC coach was a luxury. Traveling by air was not even a distant dream. Longest of travels (Delhi-Chennai) were done by train and it was super fun.
- Clothing & Accessories
The local shops were our best bet. We didn’t really care about fashion, because not many choices were available. Some aunty would bring a couple of frocks from US and we would jump with joy, wearing that same frock at every party we would go to. From Bhagyashree’s clips to now online shopping, we have all brought to life the inner fashion enthusiasts in us.
- Toys
A remote controlled car or a Barbie Doll were expensive gifts that were packed back well in the almirah after being allowed to use for a few minutes on a Sunday evening. What we had as toys were slates, plastic bats, wooden cutlery and marbles. Board games were limited to snakes & ladders and Ludo. Progressing from that to Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictionary, Brainvita, Sotland Yard and now the endless puzzles and mazes, life has been a joyous game!
- Music Players
There used to be a transistor, then stereo which worked with cassettes. Came in the walkmans and then multi cd players. From storing cassettes to CDs in boxes to now using virtual playlists, the muscial ride has brought smiles on our faces.
We look at children today and wonder how our own childhood would have been if we had these fancy gadgets to play with, the availability of such enromous knowledge and facilities.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our time as kids, and actually feel lucky because we have seen the best of both the worlds. We have adjusted well to the fast moving changes around us and we surely deserve a pat on our backs!
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