COWRIE Shells and DESTINY..

I cherish my childhood days and the games we played then were so traditional & wonderful. We hardly see such games and involvement in today's Gen-X children, who are oriented towards all gadgets and video games; the names of which are also difficult to name (game boy, GB advance, X-box etc etc).

I remember waiting for summer vacations, playing all day during my childhood days. Most of the playing things would be just with garden sticks, flat stones, pen, paper, marbles etc. I wonder How eco & econ friendly were they!!?


The Games we played were like lagori, langdi, Thoor chandu, police & robber, chowka-bara, (name , place, animal, thing) which are going for extinction along with the many other good old lifestyle games.

I had some high profile friends who got cowrie shells when I just used tamarind seeds to play ''Pachisi" {a ludo kind of game}. I admired at these shells several times. My love for this cowrie conchs has remained green till today.

Days passed, years just rolled & destiny got me to this paradise land which occupies only a dot on the Globe. "Seychelles" the Paradise- has kept mother nature satisfied by nil to minimal nature destruction. Call it a destiny, because toiling beach side on world's best beaches was just in my dreams. While toiling, the shells in camouflage came along kissing my feet. What attracts me is not those colorful shells broken or seeded. Its cowrie conchs which are found here in plenty & in variety. This brings flashbacks of my childhood days and my friends who never gave me one when I asked for.

I have gathered lot of cowrie shells of different sizes & varied colors. When I sit with my collection, tears roll down my cheek reminding my good old friends who are now not in touch. The new gen-X do not like to play with conchs.

My husband always tells ,"Life should go on..Do not hamper your present day thinking of something already gone".

Yes.. my husband is my new playmate who also craved for it like me..

And is this Destiny?????