Social networking isn't just about catching up with friends from another time. It can also mean getting together with complete strangers and collectively reminiscing about school, TV, music, games and other activities that shaped our lives, writes

That 90's Show

Social networking isn't just about catching up with friends from another time. It can also mean getting together with complete strangers and collectively reminiscing about school, TV, music, games and other activities that shaped our lives, writes

The first time I stumbled across the 'You know you grew up in India in the 90s' page on Facebook, a whole bunch of memories came rushing back. Twelve years since that decade ended, I seem to have forgotten a lot of things associated with that time. Fortunately, countless posts, pictures and comments by fellow users on that page reminded me of all the things I enjoyed while growing up. The first thing that strikes a visitor to the page is the cover picture — a collage of all things evocative of the 90s, with shows like Small Wonder and Shaktimaan, WWF and the Road Rash game. The timeline is filled with pictures and posts by its two lakh members. There's a poll on favourite cartoon shows where Tom and Jerry emerges as the clear-cut winner and a post about the first-ever gel pen. One of the members posts the jingle of the gel pen ad, while another talks about how owning the Rs25 pen was a status symbol. Recently, the administrators put up a picture of the Indian cricket team riding atop the Opel Astra after their victory at the 1998 Sharjah Coca-Cola Cup. Within minutes, the picture had been shared by hundreds of users and the thread of comments ranged from "Cricket in those days was truly worth watching" to "I wonder who has that car now." One of their most popular posts is a picture of a ruled notebook page with four columns titled 'Name', 'place', 'animal' and 'thing' respectively. Browsing through the page, I was transported to a time when Cartoon Network was the only cartoon channel, countless Govinda movies ruled the roost, and we countered the summer heat with glasses or Rasna and ice golas. Akash Mitra, one of the founders of the page, recently invited members to share memories of people who they haven't seen in years but still fondly remember. The results ranged from school bus drivers and conductors, house maids, the neighbourhood chaat waala and the balloon seller. On social networking sites, where people share pictures, videos and opinions, the idea of collective nostalgia is fascinating. Monica Francis, one of the administrators of the page, says that the idea for the community was born when she and the other founders started reminiscing about games, ads and cartoons that they were fond of while growing up, and discovered that they had a lot in common. “The fact that so many people associated with the memories lent an emotional touch. So many things that were present during the 90s don't exist today so it's always fun to revisit those times,” she says. The success of the page prompted Sudeep K, another co-founder, to take this nostalgia a step further. He is developing a website on the lines of a social networking platform where users can share memories via pictures, posts and more. For its members, the Facebook page serves like a virtual time machine. Mandira Dutta, senior executive at a PR company and a member of this page, feels that in this age of chaos and too much information, there is a need to go back in time and relive memories of schooldays, a relatively simpler time. “You want to rewind to those simple times when you were a kid and had no hassles. The movies, the TV serials, the advertisements, they all reflected our society and us as individuals,” she says. She cites the example of teleserials like Hum Paanch, Dekh Bhai Dekh and Hip Hip Hurray, and how they're all just fond memories now. “It's fun to discuss these with other members, even if they're complete strangers.” For a lot of us, the beginning of the new millennium signalled the end of the age of innocence. Computers got more advanced, cellphones became commonplace and an animated TV show about a disobedient Japanese boy became the preferred choice of entertainment. While we may not associate with these developments, every decade brings with it new inventions, new faces and new trends. Who knows, a few years down the line, there may be a page titled 'You know you grew up in the 2000s if...' shikha.kumar@dnaindia.net