Phir Teri Kahaani...

Tomorrow will always be different than today. What is known as in-vogue today becomes old fashioned tomorrow. What you carry over from a previous era are only memories, while everything else loses to something new and better.

And we adapt without a murmur. The way we humans are adapting to technology today is a testimonial to this fact. We have this innate quality of moving on in life. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult to identify anything which was really better yesterday but isn’t so good today. That would simply violate the universal rule that I started this blog with.

Yet, I am convinced that that I can, with a lot of certainty, find something that was better yesterday – Music. True, we have a lot happening today and the amount of music being made is unprecedented. However, most of it is clutter. To find the really good one, you have to find your way through this clutter. Now, with numerous music apps, millions of songs, and user generated content like SoundCloud, a lifetime may not be enough to filter the good ones from the bad.

When was the last time you came across a Bollywood movie in which the entire soundtrack was top notch quality – something that will be remembered for ages. You may think and recall a couple of such movies from the recent past, but you will easily find many more when you look up a list of movies made in the 90s.

One such movie, I remember, never hit the theaters. It premiered on television and then disappeared from memory. However, many of us, growing up in the 90s, will remember it for its honey sweet melodious music and some great lyrics. ‘Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi’ is a name that does not immediately ring a bell. It starred Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt, combined with the melody of Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. Its songs however, have become immortal. Here are some of the highlights from the wonderful lyrics in this movie:

Sometimes, Nostalgia kills you!

Every era is beyond doubt different from the previous one. However, the last twenty years have brought upon an unprecedented change, primarily driven by technology. The supposedly simplest form of communication is now through Facebook and WhatsApp – even if the people who want to communicate are at arm’s length from each other. The sad part is that there seems to be no reversal of this disturbing trend. Such practices will continue, will evolve and forever change the way humans go about their life.

For now, here’s something that you should relate to in some way.

A school bus pulled up next to a BMW car, nostalgia and ambition exchanged glances. The owner of the car felt a little less rich. As the signal turned green and he continued driving, he couldn’t keep up the same speed he was accustomed to. In an instance, the memories of several years had flooded his mind. His hometown, his friends and family, the absence of worry and the joy of ignorance. How wonderful was that time. A time to take your bicycle to explore the farthest place in the town only to know that there was another world waiting to be explored beyond that point. A time to play cricket throughout the day and quarrel with friends only to get back together in the evening. A time when you had only one television channel and your viewing habits were very much fixed. A time when you did not think twice before playing on your neighbor’s property.  The only thing left are memories from that bygone era. 

This is the story for many people who sometimes pause to think about their life – not the life inspired by ambitions but the one that that they so desperately want to go back to.

I recently came across an interesting phrase – “The social cost of Industrialization”. While the development of industry leads to better standards in living and better infrastructure, it leads to weakened community links. People move from the place they grew up in, migrate to larger cities and start a new life altogether in the hope of a better life. This is the cost that the human race has had to pay for industrialization throughout history. Sadly, there is no way getting around this. Thankfully, in the years ahead, relationships will go digital and will lack depth. There would be no need for meeting anyone in person. There will be no emotional connect with anything. The result - people will not have to bear the pain associated with real relationships. How blessed will these people be!!

For the rest of us belonging to this generation, take a pause and think about your childhood, your school days and adolescence. If God gives you a chance, will you trade your ambition to get back to the life that was once so rich and now looks so priceless? I will!!!!

Below is an icing on the cake for that nostalgic feeling – the closing lines from the TV series – ‘The Wonder Years’.

“I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back... with wonder.”

See, nostalgia almost killed you!