Little fragments of memory bring the sixties and the early seventies back to me with a vividness that is close to pain. Would anybody now believe it: in those days, we needed a licence to own a radio; the post office issued the licence book and also collected the annual fee. We even needed a licence to own a bicycle!
Rugged Atlas cycles were for the common man. The ownership of a sports bike, even in the seventies, was a mark of prosperity. Policemen would book youngsters for double-riding, or for cycling without a light at night. There were only two brands of motorcar available in the Indian market. The announcement of a new, improved model usually meant that the car now had one more red or green light on the dashboard. There was a waiting list of several years to buy the Vespa-Bajaj scooters.
Ice cream generally referred to frozen sticks of orange or mango-flavored water. Vanilla ice cream (there were no other flavors) was served in tiny cups and was a once-a-year treat. The copper one paisa coins were replaced by a diamond-shaped aluminum version. There were also undulating-rimmed two paise coins (first, brass; later, aluminum) and pentagonal three paise coins.
These eventually went out of circulation, as did the dark blue currency notes of all denominations. There were hundred rupee notes, and even thousand rupee notes; these were almost as large as pages from a notebook. More exotic coins transiently entered circulation, such as the dark yellow 10 paise and bright yellow 20 paise coins. Colorful, lottery-ticket currency notes replaced the dark blue ones. People weren't very rich because the government took away as income tax almost everything that people in the higher brackets earned. Come to think of it, the government still takes away and gives nothing back, doesn't it?
The President's grandson lived in my neighbourhood without need for security. The Prime Minister's son visited a family in my neighbourhood, again with minimum security. Those were the good old day; as Skeeter Davis puts it, when times were bad! Returning with a disconnected thud to the reality of the present, I learn that the government intends to send 250 legislators to China. No mention has been made of whether there are plans to bring them back. May we hope for the best?