These days I am addicted to this young love story of the 1990s on Sony TV. “Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai” is a Hindi tv show that attracted me because of the 90’s songs used as background songs for the scenes. I should also say that love stories, especially the falling in love part, really attracts me. Not that I lose interest in the challenging part of staying in love, but rarely do we see the portrayal of real difficulties on Indian TV shows.
So this story is set in 90s which reminds me of many things of my childhood, the crushes, the infatuations, the strained relationships of family, the gossip of women, the antenna and television, the music in cassettes and many other small nuances of old era…you get the drift? I am reminded of the times, I helped Appa in making the television signal clear, my yearning for a walkman, the wish to collect cassettes of my favourite music, the hesitant communication with parents about our deepest fears and feelings etc.
It also reminds me of the young crushes and innocent love we experience at that age. The mere touch of a boy giving goosebumps to hugging being equating to seeing dreams of marriage with that boy. It was so naive during those ages. Isn’t it? Where marriage dreams were on high gear even before we started dating. In fact, words like dating or divorce were considered influence from western countries for which we were looked down upon. Wearing of jeans or imitating western wear was a complete no-no.
I realize at this point, that studying in a girls only convent school, had painted a dramatic painting of relationships between man and woman in my eyes. The restrictions from the family, the loneliness from schools, the dreams inspired from movies, all misleads us enough to expect much more from relationships. Reading this post reminded me that I am not alone in forming fairy tale notions in my head around marriage and love. We start dreaming of “happily ever after” assuming there is not much issues at all after the initial integration phase. The high expectation levels clouds the view to notice the small happy moments happening and appreciate them. As much as I try to outgrow from the fairytale ending and look at life practically, I doubt whether I can ever break free completely from the smoke of judgement-mindset that is deep rooted in my minds.
Meanwhile, my current playlist is set to the popular songs of 90s in the voices of Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. Cherishing and reliving the nostalgic memories in this season of love. How about you? How is the valentine season treating you?
