Ah, the good, old ’90s! An era that so many of us cherish now that we are all grown up. It was a time when things seemed simpler compared to now. When life was not as influenced by technology and when happiness was found in smaller things. The world changed and how, but our childhood remains intact. The fond memories remain unscathed. Even though weekends are just as dear to us now as they were back then, weren’t they so much better back then? It’s a shame that kids these days missed out on so much that we used to do back in the day.
Here are 18 ways in which weekends during the ’90s were different:
1. Waking up to He-Man every Sunday morning.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was how we started our Sundays and we did not mind getting up early to watch our blonde hero in action.
2. Speaking of superheroes, who can forget Shaktimaan?
The Avengers are cool but Shaktimaan holds a very special place in our hearts. He was first a friend, then a superhero.
3. And what about Mowgli and his wolf pack or Daanasur?
Jungle Book and Daanasur were absolute favourites. The team of Bageera and Baloo was our absolute favourite and let’s not even start talking about the terror that was Sher Khan. But we all loved Chipkali ke nana- Daanasur.
4. Plus, for the movie lovers, we excitedly waited for DD’s movie telecast on Saturday evenings.
Yes, we did not have many options back then but we watched whatever Doordarshan gave us and we loved it!
5. Sunday mornings will never be the same without Mahabharata.
BR Chopra brought us the story on screen and that is how we learnt about the epic. Admit it!
6. Or the great stories in Potli Baba Ki.
Puppets were born from his Potli, who enacted some of the best stories. So fancy for a ’90s kid!
7. Weekends set the stage for our grand cricket matches against rival colonies.
Where I played, the winning team got a new Cosco ball from the losing team and sometimes Rs 10 per head. What was your bet?
8. If it rained, it meant playing football instead of surfing channels at home.
Diving into a puddle of mud was the most satisfying thing in the world.
9. Come evenings, and all the kids would get together to play luka chhupi .
Hide & seek was one of our favourite pass times and the den had the worst day of his life.
10. And when we had to stay inside, Super Mario, Contra and other video games came handy!
In the rare case when we weren’t allowed to play outside, we switched on the old Nintendo and play games.
11. At other times, we rented a VHS tape and watched a movie.
Movies like Home Alone , Aladdin , Pinocchio and so many others came on these rectangular tapes that went into VCRs.
12. Family picnics were not a rarity.
We did not have malls to go to. A packed lunch in a big park or a garden was all we needed.
13. And for dinner, we had very limited restaurant options but made peace with it.
Nirula’s has been around forever and as kids that was my favourite. What was yours?
14. On a lucky weekend, we got a trip to amusement parks.
Appu Ghar, Essel World, etc. There were different ones in different cities. We all loved going on those rides and scaring the crap out of ourselves.
15. Or dad took us on long drives where we could eat tasty street food.
It did not matter if it messed up our stomach. In fact, I hoped it did so I could miss school on Monday by gulping up some street-side samosas and jalebis.
16. All the colony friends came together to collect money and buy ice cream.
The ice cream cart used to visit on weekends, and the taste of a cone ice cream on a hot day is unbeatable.
17. Making mix tapes was another weekend activity.
This wasn’t possible during weekdays as it was a time-consuming task to find our favourite songs and record them onto one cassette.
18. Sadly though, every weekend met its demise with “Polish your shoes and finish your homework.”
The feeling of Monday started on Sunday evening itself, where we readied our uniforms, polished our shoes, finished out homework and prayed that we fell sick the next morning.
This is something that the generation of today would probably not comprehend. Change is not always bad, and yes we have moved forward in life. But then deep inside, a little part of us wishes that we still had those old phones, those old games & more outdoor fun.
We changed with time, but our memory did not. Those moments of growing up in the ’90s will forever stay close to our hearts for we have experienced a life of a different kind, without which we can’t fathom our past or our childhood.
