About jigsaws and tank engines...

Toys, toys everywhere...

The amount of ‘stuff’ that we have come to accumulate since the birth of my son in only two and a half years is silly. In my home for example, aside from using up the dedicated storage space in my son's bedroom, we have a double-door cupboard allocated for toys as well as a (spare) bedroom with baby/toddler things housed in all corners. And with so many 'special' days marked on the annual calendars, we overcome our resistance all too often to indulge our son with one more present. As do the extended family and close friends who play their roles in his life to perfection.

It won't be an exaggeration to say that our modern homes housing small nuclear families (like mine!) are swamped like warehouses with an endless sea of toys requiring just as much space as people. Could it be that we are simply turning to things to provide the same stimulation that a young child would have drawn from real people and children a few decades ago? Are we replacing human interaction and comfort with physical 'stuff'? One to discuss another day perhaps.

In comparison, growing up I only had one shelf in a common cupboard for keeping any of my prized possessions that included a few dolls (including a Birthday Barbie!), board games, and some handmade purses (gifts from a grand-aunt). Anything from before the time that I can remember would have been duly handed down to a close relative for their young ones. On special occasions such as Diwali and birthdays, as per custom Amma and Babaji would distribute money amongst all of us kids - my brother, cousins, and me. The gift money was saved for when we really needed or desired something. They didn't believe in showering us with gifts that only had a short-lived novelty value, instead encouraged us to utilize money after due consideration.

My husband who was born and spent his early childhood here in the UK, on the other hand, had a sizeable selection of toys. Various factors including lack of extended family in the vicinity, and a Western influence in upbringing would have no doubt contributed to this difference. However, the one thing that is common between us is the value that we felt for those toys and the strict discipline that was enforced by our respective parents to care for things. In fact, only a few weeks back when I was in Delhi, staying at my husband's family home, I discovered toys from his childhood painstakingly stored and preserved against the vagaries of passing time. Amongst others, there was a floor alphabet jigsaw still useable with lo behold all pieces intact! How a puzzle could have survived over more than three decades, two continents, saved from curious hands/minds of two busy children is incredible.

But there was an even more interesting find in the form of a full set of metal tracks and wagons from the Thomas the Tank Engine series itself! As any family should, we all busied ourselves in putting the tracks together. Once completed the gleaming track and elegant engines made the 21st-century plastic version of the same toy-set bought a few days before from Hamleys look so much paler in comparison. The contrast in quality, detailing, and feel was obvious with the metal engine essentially being a miniature replica of a lifesize engine and the plastic Thomas simply a toy engine. Even my toddler could spot the difference, rushed to pick up his daddy's favorite toy and broke it within minutes out of sheer exhilaration. To be fair to him, he couldn't have expected the outcome of his actions as none of his toys break that easily. After all, plastic doesn't break all that easily. And no doubt that in this robustness lies the biggest conundrum of our times. While it's good that it lasts long, it's bad that it does!

For reasons both good and bad, the invention of plastic could be described as transformational for the human race. And just like the problem, its antidote must lie in a new discovery and innovation. Iconic companies such as Lego are already investing in R&D to find something sustainable but formidable to replace the ubiquitous plastic. But while the world waits for such a course-correcting invention, the onus lies on us as parents to teach our children to care for and value their belongings. For wouldn't it be satiating to see another Thomas engine being shared across generations?