The Little Things In Life

Remember the first time you came across the brand Paper Boats? I was first introduced to the brand by an endearing and engaging video I received on WhatsApp featuring a bunch of young adults who refused to let the child in them die. A few more of such videos followed, and then a few months down the line, we were neatly introduced to the very economically priced, interestingly designed tetra packed flavoured soft drinks. I am no marketing professional, but being a fairly intelligent, generally observant kind of a person, I understand this to be an excellent marketing strategy. Their marketing is primarily through the social media and they evoke one of the most beautiful emotions in the world – nostalgia, and you can never go wrong with it. The simple joys of our precious childhood are some of the best things we love to reminisce about – our school, our school friends, the games we played, and, as the company has most beautifully named and captioned its brand, making paper boats an...

It was a fine Sunday afternoon with the rain pouring outside. I heard the sounds but was too busy watching Sherlock to pay any heed to it. Thankfully, the show came to an end before the rains did and I then turned my attention to the brimming joy of nature. First, I let the sound of rain sink deep into my ears and into my soul, and then I saw the pouring of waters, the swaying of leaves and the green of the grass in my mind’s eye. As I was basking in the sweetness of my imagination, I asked myselves how long it has been since I got soaked wet in the rains. An image instantly flashed before me - pouring rains, a small bunch of children (toddlers and teenagers alike) splashing and jumping, a massive thunder from the heavens above, followed by an old man glowering down on his grandchildren and rushing them inside the house. It was June 2005, Kerala. We, cousins, had ventured out of the house to indulge ourselves in the tantalizing rains while our grandpa watched on from the veranda...