It was 5 pm in the evening. Suddenly the sky went completely dark, swallowed as it was with black, bulbous clouds. Within a couple of minutes, sheets of water descended from the heavens coupled with loud thunder. It was suddenly as dark as an inky black night. The streetlights came on. And we stood with our tea mugs watching this sleet. Within no time, small rivers were flowing on the streets. And my younger son was gingerly trying to jump into the puddles created. The rain, as it happens so often in Bangalore, started thinning quickly leaving behind a lush green landscape. All the rain songs flashed through my mind as I gingerly watched instructing the kids not to get wet. Oh yes, we in Bangalore, start falling sick as soon as the rains begin which in a good year is almost the entire year.
Suddenly, my son wanted a paper boat to float in the small puddles that had formed on the road. Armed with the annoying flyers that come in the newspapers, my husband and I got on with the task. Wracking my brain, I realized that I had completely forgotten how to make a paper boat! It was quite a shock to me. As a child, I loved creating those paper boats to float in puddles. I used to make them very neatly.
Glancing askance, I noticed that hubby was struggling as well but he had made some progress. I gave up after a few folds. I had to shamefacedly turn to google to refresh the steps in my mind’s eye. Wikihow came to the rescue. Creating a paper boat subsequently gave me as much joy as it did to my son. He squealed in delight and asked us to make a few more paper boats.
So, then we made a few more that he then floated in the puddles. He has kept them carefully to float in the bucket when the rain Gods don’t oblige.
That reminds me, I’ve forgotten to make the paper planes too.
Time to google again :).
What about you? Do you still enjoy making those paper boats and planes? Do you remember how to?
Pinnable image courtesy Shutterstock.
The joy of seeing paper boats in puddles is unparalleled:)
Yes, it is so much fun :-).
I still jump into puddles when I think no one is watching me :-).
And I loved paper boats. Still do. This post took me down the nostalgia lane !
Let’s jump into the puddles together next time :-).
Reminded me of Jagjit Singh’s eternal gazal ” Woh Kagaz Kee Kashti, Woh Baarish Kaa Panee”
You know that song was playing in my mind when I was writing this post. Thank you so much for reading and sharing, Prasad!
You know what I have forgotten how to make paper planes too 🙁 But the boats I remember, I guess having been born and brought up in Goa made paper boats a part of our life through the monsoons 🙂 When I moved out, I just couldn’t imagine how anyone could go to school from June-Sep without rainy shoes 😛
Your post was so nostalgic Rachna.. made me relive those days…
I am glad the post made you relive those days, Seeta. I could not believe that I have forgotten how to make those boats. But I am sharpening my skills these days :-).
I never could make those boats!! I always used to blindly follow my brother’s or grandfather’s steps!! 😀
Hehe Really? Now do it with your kids. They will love it.
Beautiful description of my favorite weather in the first para Rachna.
Yes paper boats i think must be a part of every child’s life & i certainly can make them today.About 20 years back i had my first grandchild and it was so difficult to keep him indoors that i used to fill up the kitchen sink and do boating with him.
I love the rains, Indu, if I am not on the roads stuck in traffic. hehe Liked your anecdote about your grandchild.
How nostalgic. I know how to make paper boats and aero planes but no one needs them. In a city like Gurgaon, we don’t indulge in those activities – running after fireflies and butterflies, playing with lady birds( remember pass- fail game) or the climbing trees. Sigh!
Sigh, Alka! We are indeed fortunate to live in a community of villas where we still have trees, plants and simple joys like puddles to claim. I feel very grateful for it. And come evening, all kids are out on their bikes.
I think we need to jump into those puddles all over again. None of those purchased toys can beat the satisfaction of shaping a paper into a boat or a plane or a bag or a … Lovely post Rachna!
Indeed, Ilakshee. The outdoors hold a special charm for my family. Glad you liked the post.
Nice post Rachna, so much for son’s love 🙂
Thanks, Shweta. It really did not involve much effort.
Aah…now that’s a really cute post 🙂 Thanks to Google you regained the lost skill in making paper boats. I think I can still manage it though haven’t tried it in a long time. Should do it sometime soon 🙂 Lovely read, Rachna!
Yes, I am thankful to google for so much these days :). You must and try floating them with little kids. The squeals are completely worth it :). Glad you enjoyed the post, Beloo.
I live it still Rachna .. I am sure you know my views in it all .. I still do ,, oh yes even here in UK I have many a times Gone outside when its raining cats and dogs and done Just that .. made paper boats and let them freeee ..
reminded me of my favourite Lines ..
yeh daulat bhi le lo
yeh shauraht bhi le lo
bhale cheen lo mujhse meri jawani
magar mujhko lauta do
WOH BACHPAN KA SAWAN
Woh barish ka paani
Woh kagaz ki Kishti
we need to do it more often
Give a little time for the child within you,
don’t be afraid to be young and free.
Undo the locks and throw away the keys
and take off your shoes and socks, and run you.
La, la, la…
Bikram’s
Haye, I love that song, Bik. Yes, it is high time I jumped in those puddles. But, I do love getting wet in the rains :).
hehe Rachna this was such a lovely post…Yes, I do remember how to make paper boats and plane…Well, atleast I think I do! Have to try it out…Of-course these little joys of childhood do make the heart feel warm inside…
Oh absolutely and especially when you see your child reliving it for you. It is priceless :).
I thought this would be another piece describing the rains in abstract terms. But it took me to my favourite childhood memory – making boats! I don’t think I will ever forget how to make a boat. But as we grow up, we just give up making them because we will look silly floating them as adults. I am glad that you can re-live such wonderful memories through your children!
Thanks so much for visiting, Suman. Welcome to my space. Yes, perhaps we just stop indulging in those childhood pleasures. It is easier becoming a child with children :).
Hahaha I took a break from work to read your post, and now find myself folding a boat 🙂 Priceless! I can still fold a boat, but also ‘shirt’ and ‘pants’ , which are a step further from ‘salt and peper’ holder 😉 Shall I teach you these?
How delightful, Iliana! You have to teach me shirt and pants and salt and pepper holder. Would love to teach that to Gautam. He is a sucker for these things :).
I didn’t forget to make paper boats. I loveeee them and enjoyed even when I was in college too 🙂 But paper planes, I never made many. 🙂 Wait before I publish my comment, let me check if memory isn’t dead. yayyyy I didn’t foget 🙂
So nice to know. Hope you are making them for Rushi and Ammu :).
Hawww…how could you forget! It’s like riding a bicycle. Ek baar seekha toh one is set for life.
hehehe I was quite shocked myself that I forgot :).
I have forgotten it too. To think of it, I was not good at making it earlier too except that day night thing.
Oh, you must make it again. It was a lot of fun. I am back to being a pro :).
Awww!! I love making paper boats and airplanes for my daughter, even fans and pinwheels. And yes, those flyers are most often put to use for this. 🙂
How wonderful that is, Priya. Oh yes, pinwheels. Must do them too :). Yes, it is the best use of flyers indeed. The pic above is also of one such boat made from a restaurant menu.
I remember I remember I remember *gloats* both boats and paper planes…loved the post 🙂
*Claps loudly for you* How wonderful! And I thought I could never ever forget making them. At least, I am back to being a pro ;-).
Such a heart warming post. And here’s a the video which my kiddos watch for paper planes. They fly really long..I can vouch for that
Thank you, Sri! This is a really good video. I am going to try this one. My husband makes some really nice paper planes for the kids. Now I will make them as well :).
One day, I decided to check if I remember making those paper boats while I was baby-sitting. Though I struggled in the beginning, I managed to do it without any help from Google Baba. The joy it brought is something I am going to remember for a long time!
That’s so wonderful, Akanksha. I can understand the joy you felt. I was squealing in delight when I made that perfect paper boat again :).
What a coincidence – Just yesterday I was talking of paper boats in the rains with a friend of mine and, presto, you post this one 🙂 Do I still remember how to make one..hmm…need to try now 🙂
It is so much fun to make these paper boats especially since it is raining so much these days :). You should try and see if you still remember.
I had forgotten it too…but my kids came to my rescue. We never got tired of making them or watching get soggy. 🙂
So much fun. Gautam did not know but he persisted till he got one by hook or by crook :).
Amidst all those comments of ; having forgotten’ how to make paper boats and planes. here is one that says, ‘I could never make either of them.’ 🙁 It was the L&M who made them, and I watched, desperately trying to learn. And do you know what? The kids tried to teach me once they had learnt how to. Just imagine a three-year-old teaching the dummy in me 😀 Now I have gone and done it! Who can imagine a mom not being able to make a paper boat, eh?
Great! Der aaye durust aaye :D.
Paper boats, paper planes, Ball, that game which tells what you are like based on your choice of colors etc (have even forgotten the name of that ).. there were just so many simple things which used to bring so much happiness.. and so far removed from today’s high-tech toys.. joys were much simpler back then.. weren’t they 🙂
Yes, we used to love playing that game, I remember. I see that children still enjoy these games but they need some initiation. In this case, it was my son who asked for the paper boat :).
Hi Rachana,
I have remember those days when we are making paper boat using our fresh pages of school copies because pages are good rather than other,some i have beaten by my father on these activities…on 15 Agust 2014 after long time i have made paper boat again using fresh paper of my sister’s school copy.Thank you a lot for sharing heart touching post for remembering childhood activities….
Thank you, Abhay, for sharing your childhood memories.
I live in Bahrain which is in the Middle East. I miss the rains so much!! As for paper boats, I think I will be able to make one if I tried. Or maybe that’s what everyone thinks till they actually make one in their 30’s!!
hehe Yes, Nisha, I thought I could make it easily. And then I was in for a rude surprise :).
Sweet! While, I may falter a bit with the aeroplane, I think, I can make paper boat easily! Do you remember the paper fortune teller? That hing we used to make like a flower and 4 colours written outside and had numbers inside, we choose the colour and the number and then our fortune would be revealed.Such lovely childhood memories! 🙂
Yes, I used to love that game. Didn’t we play it on and on and on? :). It was such fun. Even my kids play that one sometimes.
Did my comment get swallowed by the internet? 🙁
Sorry Pepper. Looks like it did :(. Can you post again, please.
Gosh, it’s been ages since I made a paper boat. And it looks like I have forgotten how to make that too.
Wikihow!! 🙂
It was only a few months back that I re-learnt (is there a work like that ? :D) how to make a paper plane. Thanks to one of those Disney Planes mags.
Enjoy the rain, you guys.
Hahaha Dee It looks like we are all traveling in the same paper boat :D. Thanks about the rains. I guess they are almost towards the end.
I remember liking airplanes more than boats and loved making them. Perhaps I’ll remember if I try making it again 🙂
Yes, the airplanes were our favorite, weren’t they? Those the boys have been flying for a long while now. Paper boats were their new muse :).
Cute post, Rachna. Absolute love the paper boats. What a childhood delight.
Thank you, Vishal :).
Oh I keep on making paper boats. I remember only the boat and the airplane. Rest has been erased 🙂
How lovely, Bhagya :D.
This part of “BACHPANA” never gets over.
It never does, indeed :).
Oh..you made me nostalgic..paper boats in puddle..returning from school when we actually used to jump into the puddles and my mom scolded me so much every time 😀
All moms are the same :D. Glad the post made you nostalgic, Maniparna
This year indeed gave us lots of rains and yes, I did make paper boats with my girls. It’s fun. Lots of childhood memories revived through your post. 🙂
Thanks, Rekha! It always is such fun :).