One Rupee Greeting Card

When I have a flashback of the golden days of my childhood, a hoard of pleasant memories springs up from the core of my heart. Emotions take the form of tears and begin to flow from my eyes. One such memory was that of the " One rupee greeting card ". Being a 90s born, I always had the affinity towards collecting trump cards and greeting cards. I scribbled all my nitty-gritty thoughts on them. I still remember that I had a black colored box possibly belonging to a "Munshi"(accountant), gifted to me by my late Grandma. We didn't know the language of digital messages and the Social Media had not come into the scenario at that time. When I look into my past, I see a child wearing a half pant and a white shirt. And being a " Motu "at that time, I used to be very naughty. I remember being scolded by my parents because I converted a room with newly painted walls into an Art gallery with my immature paintings or one can say childish paintings that too by using organic glue. Although today I have lost my interest in those beautiful cards and those childish messages of unconditional love, I still miss those days. For us greeting friends through cards had become a cult. And I also bought postcards having the pictures of famous persons and landscapes, and signing on them gave me the feeling of having autographed the postcards myself. Those days we didn't have to go to any cafe or restaurant or hotels to celebrate the new year. We celebrated one month prior to the new year's day through these greeting cards. Those days we didn't have to go to an archive store to purchase greeting cards. Also, we didn't have the idea of visiting those places at that tender age. In my childhood, I used to make my own greeting cards with the help of sketch pens, drawing sheets, and a heart full of enthusiasm. And I used to play the game imitating the " Greeting Card vendor ". How blissful, how mesmerizing those days were! What charismatic souls we were! The days when we learned the important lessons of life from Cartoon Network, Malgudi Days, Amar Chitra katha, Fairy tales, Arabian Knights,Chandamama and Panchatantra stories, etc are lost. The thrill of collecting greeting cards which were very cheap was considered precious than any luxurious item. Today I miss those days, those moments of joy, the excitement for the advent of a new year. In those days, New year was not just a mere date for us, but an emotion intact along with the hobby of collecting greeting cards and sharing it with our near and dear ones.

Today I am looking for a card that too from that small shop, where a Vendor named     " Majju Babu " sat, wearing a lungi and a shabby upper cloth along with a "Gamcha", with an ecstatic smile on his face. I shared a fake mercantile relationship with Majju Babu of buying and selling greeting cards. How delightful those moments of childhood were! Today I feel nostalgic while remembering my childhood. How significant a single one rupee coin was! I wish once again I will witness that day when I would be holding that greeting card of one rupee and find that little boy, who was very much fascinated by Greeting cards.