Carefree Days

There was a sprawling park across my house that had a children’s area in it. When I see the young children running in glee to the park in the evenings, my memory would go back to the years when I was a child.


I was born in a big city and I grew up there. As a treat, one joys of my child hood was my being allowed to visit alone the local park and play myself silly. The evenings would witness children flocking to the park in droves to enjoy playing in the swings, slides, revolving platform and various climbing equipments. It was always a treat because it was so full of greeneries, beautiful flowers and had everything a playground should have for little kids to enjoy.


I must thank my mother for encouraging me to play there daily though she had the cautionary words of safety, telling me not to walk in front or behind a moving swing, always to get down when it has stopped, to use the railings when I climbed, not to talk to strangers and not to stray alone behind bushes. Her care and concern is still vivid in my memory. I must admit the significant role these visits to park had in my growing up as a confident person.


It looks funny that she used the trip to the park as a reward for my visiting the dentist without throwing up tantrums. I had always made a big fuss and had to be cajoled, coaxed and even threatened for going to the clinic. I had a mortal fear of the drilling machine and loathed the shining instruments with a mirror that he inserted in my mouth. But the moment she promised a long stay at the park, all my protest melted away.


This evening as I was standing in the balcony, as was my past time to watch the happy children going to the park, I saw a police car and people huddled in groups and talking in hushed tones. Unable to resist my curiosity I went down to join the crowd. What I heard was a bizarre story of a pedophile luring a six year old girl with a bar of chocolate that was drugged to a corner of the park and attempting to satiate his lust beastlike on the girl. 


Luckily for the girl, her puppy that followed her barked so noisily that the wicked man was troubled. As he threw stone at the puppy, it caught the attention of a passerby to the spot before much damage could be done. The child was unconscious but was saved in the nick of time. The man was chased and caught and the girl taken to a nearby clinic.


This incident set me thinking how even a children’s park where innocence and gaiety alone ruled in my younger days, have become dangerous places. While my parents taught me to be respectful to strangers and mind my manners, it is perhaps necessary to teach the kids that it is okay to run away from a stranger, not to answer him, and scream if the stranger attempts to touch.


The park is no longer a haven and safe place for our kids as it used to be.


“Upon our children – how they are taught – rests the fate – or fortune – of tomorrow’s world”.

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Written for Thursday Tales (Tale No. 12)
Photo Courtesy: andrewf1