The Good ‘Ol Days… Things That Defined Your Growing Up Years

This month is special for the 3Girls. It’s birthday time! What a coincidence it is that the three of us celebrate our birthdays within a month of each other. Upasna‘s birthday is in July while Shruti and I celebrate our birthdays in August. I love birthdays.. they’re so much fun! One day in a year that’s all yours… lalala! It makes even the most grown up person become a child all over again. The attention, the presents, the cake, the countdown to ‘your day’.. I don’t know anyone who does not get excited about their birthdays.

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My First Birthday!

Birthdays always make me want to go back in time. As a kid I couldn’t wait to grow up and now I’m dying to back. I had a great childhood and teenage years. It’s all thanks to my wonderful parents who taught me everything I know and inspire me to this day. My Mum taught me how to cook with my first biscuit non bake cake when I was 12 and still continues to guide me through the kitchen basics. My love for travelling, photography and running is all my Dad.

The 3Girls are super excited this month to #BlogAlong about the Things That Defined Our Growing Up Years. As we reminisce about the Good ‘Ol Days.. I have to admit that I’m a quintessential 90s kid who grew up in urban India. I did have the best of both worlds growing up – the freedom and security of an Air Force Station and the proximity of a metropolitan city to keep me in the loop of the big bad (awesome) world. I think I was extremely fortunate to have them both. I studied in a big school in the heart of Delhi which had a huge impact on me. When I was fifteen, we moved to Bangalore.. and Oh my GWAADD!! THAT was a culture shock. I suddenly was struggling to find my place in a school and community that was slightly (read ‘a lot more’) more traditional. Humans adapt.. and so did I.

Although I still don’t know who I am, here are a few things that had a huge impact on me growing up.

1. Going from a tomboy to a GIRL!

Haha!! I’m sure so many of us have had this experience. I was a crazy tomboy as a kid. I couldn’t care less about what I wore and how much I hurt myself while playing. Well, it all comes to an end before you know it. We used to have monthly station parties where I stayed. They used to be so much fun.. hanging with friends, lots of music and dancing. Suddenly you find yourself deciding and discussing with your girlfriends what you’re going to wear. Wait, that had never happened before! I decided to wear a hand me down dress, the first proper grown up dress I had ever owned, and I remember my guy friends laughing at me hysterically because I looked like a ‘girl’.

Discovering different colours of nail paint.. At one point, for some reason, I fell in love with the colour green. It was around my birthday and all I wanted was green nail paint. I did have good friends.. everyone I knew, gave me a different shade of green nail paint that birthday and it was the best birthday EVER!!

(Thank God I grew out of that!)

2. Books…

Froh1brlgcm Nancy Drew books to Sweet Valley in primary school to RL Stine… just because everyone was reading it. Of course I loved Nancy Drew and St. Clares when I was younger ( I always wanted to be in boarding school because of that series). It didn’t take me very long to up my game to John Girsham. My first proper novel was ‘The Firm’ by John Grisham. I remember that so clearly. It was my Mum’s book and I read it just because it had Tom Cruise on its cover! Sigh!

Getting caught reading my first Mills and Boon! Hahahaha!!! This incident was soooooo funny! I  had taken one of my mum’s Mills and Boon to read. I guess that’s how many of us start reading those books. Now I was quite aware that I was not supposed to be reading that book. No one had told me not to read it, but there are a few things you just know that you shouldn’t be doing. So I was reading the book and without my realizing, in walk my father. Startled, I threw the book under the bed. I hadn’t realized how hard I’d flung the book. The book slid and came out the other end of the bed, right next to my father’s foot! It was like a scene out of a movie. Fortunately my Dad just laughed and left. I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t finish the book. Lol!

3. Music! Music! Music!

Music became such an important part of my life when I was growing up. No longer were my parents the only source for picking up the tunes (although they were a huge influence) MTV. Channel V, radio, friends, internet… suddenly my world was opening up. It was not just the international music scene, but Indi Pop was a huge thing in the 90s. Till today, Indi Pop has not been as good or as popular as it was in the 90s. You can read about Shruti’s fascination with Indi Pop here. It is not possible to talk about 90s Indi Pop and not talk about Alisha Chinoy. She was the queen of Indie Pop. Although Made in India was perhaps the most popular song by Alisha Chinoy and for a good reason.. ahem.. it has Milind Soman in the video, my favourite will always be De De Mujhko. Unfortunately no Milind Soman in that video, but we do have another super hunk. (*Drool*) I will always be obliged to Alisha Chenoy for introducing the world to Milind Soman. Mr. Soman, if you ever read my post, please note that I have always loved you since the first time I saw you and will continue to do so till the end of my days. With the recently completed Ironman, you have become my hero all over again.

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Some of the artists that made 90s Indi Pop amazing!

There was a phase in Indi Pop where all the old Hindi songs were remixed. It was such a rage! Move over Honey Singh, those songs will never go out of fashion. My favourite among them were Piya Tu Abh Toh Aaja and Jhumka Gira Re Of course we had some really amazing remixes with Instant Karma in the house. Dil Kya Kare, Hum Bewafa, ah! I miss those days! It just got better when Strings entered the scene. Sar Kiye Hai Yeh Pahar… have you ever heard anything better that??

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‘Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 3’ was the first cassette I ever bought. Backstreet Boys (Yes! I was one of those.. I loved them!) Boyzone, Spice Girls were the flavour of the hour. What we didn’t realize is that we had some really amazing main stream music with Shania Twain, Natalie Imbruglia, Savage Garden, Shreyl Crow, Matchbox 20, the list goes on and on… they were so good!  Of course I started discovering classic and alternative rock when I was in college.

There are so many times that hubby and I go down memory lane and listen to the music of the 90s. It never gets old! How much of the ‘shake your booty big mama’ hip hop and twee-wee-something something EDM can you take after all??

AIR and English music for an hour… We were so happy when me moved close to Delhi. All India radio started becoming popular among the urban populace. They would play English music for an hour in the evening from 5-6pm, and for an hour at night 9-10 pm if I remember correctly. Thus began my love for radio and music. Paging into shows, leaving a message and listening to your name on the radio was such a rush! Ah.. simple pleasures of life

My very own music system… Oh my music system! Two cassette player with record feature and radio.. she was my baby! It was sort of hand me down. My parents upgraded to a three CD changer fancy music system and I got this baby! Did I feel like a star or what? I had the system for the longest time. I got my father to buy me lots of blank cassettes. I used to wait patiently for the songs I liked on the radio and record them. I had so many cassettes like that, and I used to keep listening to them all the time. There were times when the RJs who used to talk in between songs, although it got me irritated, it became a part of the song.

4. Television, Friends and Sit-Coms and Rom-Coms

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I was such a wannabe when Friends started showing on TV. I sat and watched it, but I was too young to understand a thing! Fortunately it wasn’t long before I did.. and how grownup I would feel! However, I could never watch it in front of my parents. By now, I have seen the series so many times that I know every episode and every dialogue by heart. Secretly, we have all watched Baywatch and not understood any of it and 90210 when my mum used to watch it. For me, Friends never got old and still continues to be as funny as the day I watched it first.

Supermodels and Chocolate Boys.. Ahh! The age of crushes!  The super models of the 90s were more than a pretty face. Milind Soman, Jass Arora and Marc Robinson.. how could any girl in India not have a crush on them? Then came along Di Caprio in Titanic… Sigh! I have to admit though, that I had the biggest crush on Prince William. The tragic death of Princess Diana brought him to the limelight and there he stayed. Just perfect for a teenage heart.

So here we are.. just a few of the things that made growing up in the 90s simply amazing! I feel like I need to write another post just about the music.. we never did realize how good and fun the music of those times were. #BlogAlong with us and tell us how your growing up years were like. Till then.. bring out the birthday cake and party poppers! Wooohooooo!!!!

A Bit of This and a Lot of That

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is a part of the 3 Girls and a #BlogAlong monthly link-up party, co-hosted by Upasna from Life On My Plate, Shruti from Msz Knowitall and me, Pooja from A Bit of This and a Lot of That. This month’s theme is  Things That Defined Your Growing Up Years. It’s time go go back to the days where it all began. dig out the sweet memories, the stories and all the fun from the days that were the best. Can’t wait to hear from you!!

 

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