1. Getting a brand-new geometry box was the only good thing about the end of the summer.
And that's also when Nataraj suddenly became everyone's best friend.
2. This is how you decided whether someone deserved your friendship, love, affection, marriage, enmity, or sisterhood.
3. There were a lot of top-notch beverages competing for your attention...
But, after a long day of school, nothing was more refreshing than a chilled glass of this:
4. You didn't have Halloween, but all the "fancy dress" parties more than made up for it.
5. This was the No. 1 use of doorways in your house:
6. Everyone had one of these metal Godrej almirahs somewhere in their house, and it's where the adults hid their mysterious secrets.
7. This dude was terrifying, and you genuinely had nightmares about him. Thanks, Onida.
But this girl — so relevant, so witty — was (and is) your role model.
8. Lunch =
Carried inside of:
9. You could recognize these smells anywhere, anytime.
And you'll never forget what the solution to a "kamar dard" is:
10. You became a pro at painting and repainting these stylish Batas every few weeks.
11. This is what Sundays looked like:
12. You caused your middle finger some serious harm trying to get good at this:
13. And you knew the first line of every song, from all your bus antakshari sessions.
14. When everyone had a badminton phase, the coolest kids had Yonex racquets.
15. For most of your childhood, you thought this phrase legitimately meant something.
Same with this bizarre approach to population control:
16. This was the secret of your energy.
Unless, of course, you were one of these people:
Or into one of these:
17. Your birthday = a reason to wear your nicest outfit to school and hand out candy to everyone.
18. This was the most delicious thing that anyone could possibly cook in two minutes:
Seriously, every time you saw this happen on TV, you needed it to happen for you in real life.
19. "Elemenopee" was the longest letter in the alphabet.
20. Power cuts were a glorious time when you were exempt from doing homework and had no choice but to go outside and play in the dark.
21. As difficult as these were to get open, they were always worth it:
And these > M&M's.
22. At some point, you were chased around the house by your mother trying to put oil in your hair.
23. Thanks to your various school uniforms, you know words like "culottes" and "pinafores."
Unless you had one of these stiff-dupatta uniforms.
Either way, "color dress" or "free dress" days were the best days.
24. You learned patience by waiting for your sparklers to light on Diwali.
(That patience came in handy while reloading this questionable toy.)
25. And you honed your reflexes by dodging water balloons on Holi.
26. There was one of these somewhere in the city, and you got to go there when you needed special books.
27. This godsend, masquerading as a digestive pill, was the most delicious thing you would ever eat.
And this more serious, legit digestive cure would keep your breath foul for days.
28. "Akar bakar Bombay bo..."
29. These were the most superior "soft drinks."
30. These men were in your living room more often than most of your family was.
31. There was nothing in the world as mouth-meltingly soft as a Marie Biscuit dipped in hot chai.
32. Amar Chitra Katha's Birbal was the smartest person you'd ever heard of.
And this guy was the stupidest:
33. Whenever a relative came back from a trip abroad, you invariably were gifted some of these:
34. You could recognize this kid anywhere:
35. Everyone became an expert boat-maker during the monsoon.
36. This.
37. Every Indian girl secretly tried these on from her mom's stash.
38. And every Indian boy regularly "borrowed" some of this from his dad:
39. One hour of your school week was dedicated to social service or "Socially Useful Productive Work."
And several hours of the school week were devoted to "book cricket."
40. This was a classic torture device used by moms:
41. This cigarette-shaped candy, as problematic as it is in hindsight, made you feel cool as hell:
And the first tattoo you ever got was courtesy of these guys:
42. Before you knew what the word "ambassador" meant, this is all it was:
And your family's first car was probably one of these:
43. After school activities = snacks, tuitions, classes, homework, and then finally playing outside with colony friends.
44. You could finish a box of these in one sitting:
And you would regularly beg your parents to buy you these:
45. When some well-meaning relative bought you a laser pointer, you used it to terrorize your neighbors for weeks.
46. The first movie you ever saw in 3D:
47. You will never forget the tune of the "washing powder Nirma" song.
48. You couldn't wait to lick your fingers clean after eating these...
To get to the best part:
49. You learned all your business skills by trading cricket cards...
Or, more likely, WWE cards.
50. You had these stacks of classic soundtracks somewhere in your house.
51. Around sixth grade, everyone's hands were constantly covered in ink from learning how to use these:
52. And in seventh grade, everyone got Slam Books and found out who their true friends were.
53. Managing to squeeze a full-sized cricket game into a gully of any width was everyone's special skill.
54. Nobody seemed to ever buy these matchboxes, but there were always some lying around.
55. This was the most tedious back-to-school activity:
Although the end result was pretty satisfying.
56. Watching these men's sagas was a weekly family activity.
57. Touching your distant relatives' feet was an investment well worth the returns.
58. You felt like a professional acrobat every time you climbed into these top berths.
59. And if you ever overexerted yourself with any physical activity, there was always a white powdery savior:
60. Every Independence Day, you proudly pinned the tricolor to your school uniform...
...proud to have had the most chaotic, most beautiful, and most memorable childhood of all.
H/t to Mani Karthik's blogpost and this "Nineties Childhood Memories" Facebook page.