The Fair

Visit to the Fair
This is about another time and another place.
Life was slow, simple was sweet, innocent, and there was magic in it. There was no TV, no VCRs, no DVDs, no mobiles, and no other electronic gadgets of today that provide entertainment at the press of a button. Playing tag, hide and seek with the kids of the neighbourhood, riding bicycles, sharing chocolates, eating ice creams sold by the vendor in the street, listening to stories from adults, reading story books, comic books, solving puzzles, playing carrom board, and Ludo formed a mixed bag of entertainment for kids back then. We had our share of quarrels with the other kids, but these were resolved amicably, generally by the end of the day. We were careful about that as we did not want to lose friends, as it meant losing out on fun too. Going to the movies was rare as there were few movies for kids. Going to the circus was something that was awaited by kids. Fairs put up during festivals, too, were a major attraction for kids.
There was a fair put up in our town, and my brother and I wished to visit it. My parents were busy with their work, and that left us a bit disappointed. We were talking about the fair, how much fun it would be if we could go, and our caretaker overheard us. She wanted to take us to the fair, but she too was occupied with some work. So, she entrusted this work to her son. She told her son over and over again to be careful and instructed us not to leave his side. And so we started from home and walked hand in hand to the fair. It was put up on a ground not really far from our home. Our caretaker’s son purchased the tickets for us, and we entered the fairgrounds. The place seemed to be full of fun activities. There were stalls for snacks, sweets, coloured drinks, ice creams, and so on. The giant wheel and the merry-go-round were the major attractions of the fair. We wanted to ride the giant wheel, but our caretaker’s son was not so sure. He took us around the fairground, and we checked out the different stalls as he wished to avoid the giant wheel ride, but finally gave in to our relentless pestering. We took a ride in the giant wheel and were beside ourselves with joy as it reached dizzying heights, making people on the ground look tiny.
The ride over, we asked him to purchase some toys. He purchased two toys for us and some chocolates for us. We walked back home, munching on the chocolates, talking about how much fun it had been, clutching the toy in our hands as a prized possession. I found our caretaker waiting for us at home-she was worried as we had gone for a long time. She saw our happy faces and was pleased. I told her all about the fair, and she took the pain to listen to me even though she had work to attend to.