Saturday, May 15, 2010

Watch out...

Last night while I was unstrapping my wrist watch, I smiled, then giggled. Some old dusty memories peeped somewhere from childhood.

Wristwatch, or anything worn on the wrist for that matter, are of great fascination to children, girls especially, and I was no exception.

Initially  it used to be a wristwatch drawn on my 4.5" circumference wrist with colorful ball pens. I remember, most of the time, it used to be a square or a rectangular dial wristwatch with smudged markings. The straps never met at the hind side of the wrist. A bath and the wristwatch would be washed. Then a new wristwatch, though very similar to the previous one.

It was summer holidays then. I was in class 4 or 5 or may be in neither. Time for my annual visit to my grandma's place. Time for mouthwatering mango pickles and juicy litchi (slurp...a post on it may be some time). My grandma always wanted to see us the best dressed. I wore the best frock ( a red colored chiffon frock with yellow and blue flowers), green beaded necklace, a wristwatch. This time it was white plastic wristwatch. Someone, must have been my uncle or may be dad, got it for me. Time was never a concern, because the watched pointed 10:10 every time. But who cares about time. The watch had holography in the dial which was the prime attraction. Tilt your hand, you see 10:10, tilt it the other way, you see "Madhuri Dixit".Isn't that awesome? I used to keep on flaunting my wristwatch all through the journey to my grandma's place. While other kids around me used to look at it with envy, grown ups never bothered. It gave me a feeling of "Ahhh...I have the best wristwatch...Everyone's watching". The wristwatch didn't last for long. Soon its charm faded and it was thrown.

I was in class 8, I nagged my father to get me wristwatch. This time, just not for flaunting (yes that too) but to watch out for time. He got me a wristwatch which had digital digit display. The watch was not that costly and attracted a rude comment from a classmate, "Where did you get this from? Footpath?". I cried. I was hurt. She had a brown strapped golden colored quartz wristwatch which had three ticking hands, invisibly tagged "Expensive and Elegant". My watch as expected didn't last long. It's digital display started eating up parts of the digits and soon displayed nothing.

Next I got a quartz watch with ticking hands. I was in class 12 then. A black dial black strap watch. It looked magnificent. It counted every minute as I wrote the crucial exams of my life. It lasted for a year though.

I got two more watches after that. One of them, as usual stopped while the other is still working.

My marriage, got me four watches. Titan all of them. A normal Titan, a Titan Sonata, a Titan Raga, a Titan Raga Diva (Bridal Collection). Three kept safely in my cupboard while one of them accompanies me wherever I go.

Small things that make a part of our life - a wristwatch. Every one has some or the other thing which though small, has a story of it's own.