Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Thank God, I have caught up with the bloganuary prompts.

Today’s prompt is “What is a treasure that has been lost?”

I think the treasure that we have lost is the joy of being with ourselves doing nothing and the joy of spending holidays with relatives, uncles, aunts and cousins.

I think of the holidays that we as chidren enjoyed at our maternal grandparents’ home every year as the best treasure. With the house full of uncles and aunts, my cousins and I found joy in simple things like watering the plants in the garden, plucking flowers for grandfather’s pooja, running errands to buy something from the grocery shop, and after the morning chores, we just sat down on the floor and played. In the evenings, we played outdoor games, learnt cycling or accompanied the elders to the temple. After dinner, we sat around our uncles listening to stories.

On my father’s side, whenever my father and his siblings met, there was so much fun – they shared stories of their childhood and they laughed so much that my cousins and I would just listen to them fascinated. Oh their sense of humour, their art of telling stories that we loved to hear again and again. I miss my father, I miss my uncles and aunt, I miss meeting people in person, bonding with our family, the fun, food, laughter and cheer. That is the treasure that has been lost to me.

Now when we meet friends and relatives we don’t give undivided attention to the conversation. Each one of us have our mobiles that distract us. Even children are busy playing games on mobiles or watching videos or television.

How I wish we could spend our holidays just chatting, idling away time with family and create beautiful memories for our younger generation.