The Age of Innocence

As a kid, Full House used to be one of my favourite TV shows: I mean, kids, dogs, handsome uncles, pretty aunts, school stories, lots of hugging, the sheer innocence- what’s not to like?

Now, after years, when I watch the rerun, I can’t help cringing a bit. It just seems so much of a make-believe world to me now. Granted, it’s been close to 15 years, but still, does life really change so much that you don’t even identify with the past anymore?
It’s different when you are talking about things in your childhood that you don’t even remember, but for things that you do remember, it’s just so hard to believe that you have moved on to an entirely different world, without as much as looking back or wondering exactly what has changed so drastically.

Shows which you adored (Wonder Years, Doogie Howser, Small Wonder and of course Full House) no longer enthralls you as it did. In fact, I can barely sit through an episode now!

Bollywood movies like KKHH, Dil to Pagal Hai, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge elicit laughter rather than emotions, though some of the popular Hollywood movies of the same period (Philadelphia, American Beauty) still remain my favourites.

Even the very game of cricket which I have been following so religiously has undergone a sea change, as new heroes have emerged and retired and others have emerged and retired (Sachin Tendulkar being the only constant).

Not to mention the way we communicate, the way we express ourselves and the way we manage our relationships have also evolved, for better or for worse.

Finally, the very essence of family has shifted. I am not here to judge, but if there is a modern day remake of Full House, it would probably be renamed Empty House.

For all our achievements, our advancements, our successes, the one thing that we did lose in the process, is the age of innocence…