Most summer vacations when I was young, my cousins used to come from Delhi to my grandparents place and we all used to have a blast. Playing board games like “TRADE” which used to go on for days and we know all details on the board. Carrom board games (tournaments), card games,hide and seek, 7 stones, Kings we used to play so many games that used to keep us all well occupied.We also used to fight a lot on everything. Television was a luxury then and we had only “Doordarshan” channels and will watch very few programs on it.No video games or any other electronic devices. Life was simple and fun then. All this helped to create a bond with my cousins and I got a sister (cousin)with whom I can share things. Though we both live in different parts of the world I feel we face pretty much the same problems.
Now during summer vacation I have to find a summer camp for my son and be worried about how he is going to take it. I feel kids of this generation are missing so much in life and I don’t want to think about next generations to come.My biggest fear is that my kids will only know very few people as his/her relatives. I have quite a few cousins and we try to keep up through a whatsapp group which is fun and helps to know what is happening in their life.
As we all know that “All Indians are my brothers and sisters” , the first brother or sister you can find apart from your own ones are your cousins.So all parents please make an effort to teach your kids about their cousins and second cousins, so even though they don’t meet them often or have fun with them , they will at least know they are there for them when in need.