My Childhood Dream

When I was a kid, all my friends wanted to become pilots, doctors, cops, etc when they grew up. I was a little different back then. I wanted to be a balloon seller. Yes, I wanted to become a ‘gubbarey wala’.

This blog post is based on true events. Continue at your own risk.

The story begins from my play school days. I don’t remember much but I sure remember crying on the first day I had to go there because I was feeling sad I had to leave home. What if I didn’t come back? For the record, that was just the beginning, I hated going to school till I passed out of the 12^th standard and I used to secretly cry every morning in the school toilet. The only thing I learned at Pink N Blue, my play school, was how to fold my arms. I’ll always be thankful for that. Why? It’s because now I can pose like an interested intellectual during a crappy conversation I have with anyone and everyone. Just fold your arms, squint your eyes and people think you’re Obama!  

The other vivid memory I have is of the fancy dress competition I took part in while my time at Pink N Blue. There were kids in Superman costumes, doctor costumes, girls wearing a fairy dress with a magic wand, and the works. I had the opportunity to be whatever I ever wanted to be albeit for a few hours only. It’s said that a human is most creative and imaginative when he/she is a kid. I grabbed this chance and became a character nobody ever wanted to be, be it in a fancy dress competition or in real life. I became a balloon seller. I became a gubbarey wala.

I wore a dirty set of Kurta Pyajama, wore the regular Hawaii Chappals and tied some balloons on a Danda and I was done. I lived my dream. I became what I wanted to be. I went on to the stage and recited my lines nervously. “Gubbaarey le lo... Gubbaarey le lo... Laal wala le lo... Peela wala le lo...” I was so innocent back then. And believe you me, I was so good at it that I won the 3^rd prize as well. I don't think I had ever been happier. It’s an achievement I have still not been able to match. To actually win a fancy dress competition by becoming a balloon seller, who does that shit?

That was not all. A few years down the line, I grew up, saw the world, met more people and had a little more sense in my head. It was a friend’s 6^th birthday party. I was probably 7 years old. It had been about 3-4 years since that 3^rd prize win at the Pink N Blue fancy dress competition. I had seen plenty of cartoons, read many comics, played a lot of games, and experienced life a lot more by then. My horizons had broadened. But the moment I found out that there was a fancy dress competition organised at that birthday party, I went into a flashback. I forgot about everything else and dug up my old Danda. I tied some balloons on it. I wore my white set of Kurta Pyajama. And I walked out of the house like a man on a mission. I was proud of that avatar. I had never been as confident about anything else till that point in my life. This time, I wanted to win the first prize.

I reached the party all excited. I was anxiously waiting for the fancy dress competition to begin so that I could show my uber cool costume off. After a few round of snacks and cake cutting, the action began. I was third in line to present myself on the stage. As I walked, with the danda and balloons in my hand, about to recite my lines, this girl started laughing. I was a little taken aback. I was surprised. The other kids joined in on the laughter and I started fumbling with my lines... “Gobre le... Lo... Laal le lo... Gobre... Le... Lo.....” And I walked away with my head hanging in shame to the other room and cried a little. I changed into my regular clothes and grew up. I came out a changed man. And I also put cake in that girl’s cold drink and forced her to drink it. I hear she is suffering from diabetes today. Heh.

Now I don’t want to be a balloon seller. But I did, once upon a time, want to be a Gubbarey Wala. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I could've been this old man. I could've.