Raising in a joint family and its steep decline in changing society

 

I was born in a joint family of 80 members in south Calcutta during the early 70’s. The days were filled with fun and frolic, social mixing and respecting elders in the family and its branches of various relative elderly cousins. I grew up playing with cousin brothers and local friends and there was no restriction in socializing with friends after play or with their families unlike today’s strange behavioral pattern of parenthood in choosing friends and their families. Those days most of the houses didn’t have the privilege of having Television sets and very interesting TV serials like Tamas, Chunauti, Starwars, He Man and the Master of the Universe, Malgudi days, Tom & jerry or Donald duck cartoons were few serials which obsessed the minds of little hearts. Going to the friend’s house in the morning or evening  and watching those interesting mind blowing serials were fun followed by friend’s mom’s serving of delicacies while watching during those childhood times.

The sweet memories lingers afresh which helped in growth of mind, soul and body. The innocence and honesty of childhood and independent decision making in a child’s mind never restricts a child from their parents in choosing their friend which actually helps to form a mental strength and moral growth. During any auspicious occasions like birthdays or durga puja festivals or marriages, all family members gather to celebrate the occasion with simple cheers and accolades. These simple parties or get together misses the beauty of gathering in today’s party concept where jealousy prevails heavily of someone’s benevolent spending on any occasions. Studies was not only controlled by our respective parents but also monitored closely by our cousin elders. Asking riddles by few elder cousins or brothers to test our intelligence form an interesting sessions especially after our child’s play and each of us used to cherish the twist in riddles. The big ancestral houses with ample number of rooms with spacious toilets consisting of bathtubs are a thing of the past in today’s world.  Maintenance of those edifices has become too high in today’s perspective which has now been replaced with flat concept with concise family members. Socializing nowadays has drastically changed compare to the yesteryear ways. Money becomes an integral part of today’s life which transforms the generosity of humanness in narrow mindedness. Life has turned into more complicated and cumbersome manner. Thus the steep decline on old big houses is in queue and the sweet innocence of childhood has lost into a remote control  whose button is on our mothers hand whose fingers pointed to our child’s nose in whatever ways the child wish to spend their own innocent lives.