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When I stand in the balcony of my colony and look down, the thing that irritates me the most is the silence. The same street, where sometimes there was children’s screams, laughter, the sound of running footsteps and “It’s out… it’s out!” Its echo was heard, today it remains strangely silent. Sometimes I wonder where those children have gone who used to throw their bags and run away to play in the street even after coming back tired from school?

The restlessness of playing as soon as you return from school

I still remember, as soon as we reached home from school, my mother would say only one voice, “First change your clothes, wash your hands and face, then go out.” But our focus was only on one thing, ‘to reach the bottom quickly.’ Homework will be done later also, but if it is late then someone else will take the swing, the cricket team will be full or the game of lame leg will start. Fatigue was not in the dictionary at that time. Be it sunlight or sweat, it didn’t matter.

park swing and our race

The park was no less than a stadium for us. The child who reaches first gets possession of the swing. The rest of the children would run around waiting for their turn, climb the slides, hide behind trees and play hide and seek. The swing was not just a thing to play with, it was a feeling of victory “Today I came first!”

Street cricket and breaking glass

By evening the street would turn into a cricket field. Wickets were made with bricks and matches started with tennis balls. The wall of every house was a boundary and every window a risk. Many times strong shots would be fired and the ball would hit the glass of a window. Then all the children disappear for a few seconds! There would be scolding, sometimes even complaints would reach home, but the next day the same game would start again. There was anger, there was mischief too, but there was life in it all.

The silence of today’s street

Now the same street remains empty even in the evening. The swings keep swinging empty in the park. Instead of the sound of cricket, now the tune of mobile games is heard coming from inside the houses. The children are not visible outside because they are sitting inside the room in front of the screen. His fingers move, but not his legs.

Mobile is swallowing childhood

I have clearly seen this change in the children around me. The first thing you need as soon as you come from school is your mobile, not water. Videos while eating, games before bed, and social media in free time. Gradually the habit of playing outside ended. Meeting friends became less. Now friendship is also online, sports is also online and laughter is also online. But the laughter on the screen was not the same as the laughter that echoed in the streets.

What do we feel we are losing?

Mobiles took away children’s time, but also took away their childhood. They moved away from the soil, away from the sunlight, away from real friendship. We kept them indoors to keep them safe, but unknowingly imprisoned them in the world of screens. Sometimes when I see a child riding a bicycle or running in the park, I feel happy. Looks like it’s not too late. If we want, we can return children back to the streets, parks, mud and real games. Mobile is important, but childhood is more important than that.