Some Magical Moments

Every person has some fond memories of their childhood days.When we look back upon those cherished moments with a tinge of nostalgia,we cannot help but wonder whether we could re live those moments. Many travel miles to visit their long-forgotten home towns in the search of that elusive "something"which is perhaps missing in their present lives.
My home town is Jabalpur which is located in the Mahakoshal region in the geographic center of India. It is the one of the largest cities of Madhya Pradesh,India.The exceptional Topography of Jabalpur with hills all around the city gives it a picturesque setting. I visited my hometown recently and made it a point to visit the place where I was born & brought up. It was a Bungalow from the English Era surrounded by sprawling lawns , shady trees & flower beds which were so lovingly taken care of by my father. I grew up with trees & my pets as my friends. Speaking of pets , I had a dog 'Shera', a tortoise, 2 rabbits (which very soon multiplied to around ten !) & one white mouse. Together we were quite a handful ! I'd experienced some wonderful magical moments in this house.
Fast forward to present times - & I was standing in front of that same Bungalow. But alas ,the lawns were just a patch of barren dusty land, the flower beds were gone, thankfully a few of the big trees were still braving the summer heat.The Bungalow was looking much smaller than what I remembered. After taking a few snaps & walked up to a Sugarcane juice vendor who had stationed his small cart (called "thela" in these parts) under a tree shade just in front of the Bungalow & had a chat with him sipping a tall glass of juice. I wondered aloud that people seemed have stopped taking care of trees-on which the vendor enlightened me that it was scarcity of water which was to blame.
I went around the place to to take a look at the large play ground were we used to play, the Officers club were we used to watch English movies (the nearest cinema hall was, & still is around 12 Kms away !) & play Badminton , my Primary School (which has now been converted into a residence quarter); many of the residence quarters were in ruins & some been declared "Condemned quarters" which would be demolished soon-after all many of them are over 80 yrs old !
One thing that struck me was that all the places, buildings, hillocks, nullas , parks, grounds all looked smaller than what I remembered. On introspecting, it dawned to me that the world as seen through the eyes of a child looks grand, big, wonderful & magical.
In todays world of cynicism, we need to think like a child once again & view the world through the unassuming eyes of a child - & cherish every moment of life as it unfolds itself. It would help bring back a new meaning, a positive approach & perhaps a little magic in our lives. World would surely be a little better place .