When I recall my childhood days, I feel like I lived in a different era altogether. Those innocence-filled days, when my imagination used to run wild, and in my little world, everything and anything was possible. This world was big (still is) and new. I barely understood anything! To be honest, all of us believed in the darnedest of things and came up with crazy and ridiculous ideas. The benefit of hindsight makes us realize how utterly nonsensical we were. Though that’s the best part of being a kid; we could get away with absolutely anything, no matter how bizarre it was.
On that note, I got in touch with my teammates and asked them to share their childhood anecdotes. It must have been cathartic to spill out all the silly things they believed in as kids. Just as I expected, they were cute and funny. So read more to know what they have to say. I am sure you’ll be able to relate to at least one of them!
Anushka Dave
There are many things I believed to be true as a child, but I am not here to embarrass myself, so I will share only this one. Now I know it wasn’t just me who believed that the moon followed you wherever you went. After 19 years, I reckon this delusion made me feel more special than anything else. I was so happy every time I looked up, and the moon practically moved along with me. Was I sent from heaven? Did I have God’s special blessings? Maybe I had superpowers. I did not care about any scientific explanation. Although, I probably didn’t even know what ‘scientific’ meant. I guess I just wanted to stay in my fantasy. Even when I asked my mother why the moon followed me, she never broke my palace of illusions. She would rather say that it was because I was special and chanda mama (the moon) loved me. I don’t care however stupid this sounds to you; I find this innocent. But yes, I don’t care what you all think about this silly and funny story, the moon still follows me everywhere, haha!
Jaishree Tambi
There were several silly beliefs that I had, but the funniest one, according to me, was that if you swallow the seeds of watermelon, it would eventually grow into a tree in my stomach. I am clueless about the origin of this belief, but this myth lived inside me for quite a while. Every time I ate a slice of watermelon, it terrified me — what if I swallow the seed, and I give rise to an enormous tree inside my stomach? How would it get out? How would I survive? What would happen? I chose not to eat watermelons to be on the safer side. However, on the rarest days, the care and consciousness with which I used to eat watermelons was ridiculous. Until, one fine day, my belief was busted when I actually swallowed some seeds with my stomach intact. It’s as funny as it sounds, but trust me, it isn’t just me who believed in this.
Madhurima Roy
The first thing that comes to my mind is that I used to ‘make wishes’ on eyelashes. I’m not sure how many of you did this. For me, this was an entire ritual. You were supposed to find that sacred eyelash on your cheek, and you weren’t supposed to pluck it. I used to keep the eyelash on my hand (close to the knuckle, on the back of my left palm preferably), close my eyes, cover the eyelash with the palm of my other hand and make a wish. Then I would blow the eyelash with my eyes closed. If the eyelash blew away, my wish would come true. I would tell no one what the wish was because I did not want to jinx it. It took me a few years to realize this was absolutely rubbish. I’m pretty sure people still do it, including me!
The other dumb thing I believed in was that tiny people lived in traffic lights and that these lights would change colours because these small people were pressing buttons on the inside, just like Lilliputians from Gulliver’s Travels. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Well, kids are silly.
Saumya Singh
The funniest thing I believed as a kid was that trees could grow inside one’s stomach if they swallowed seeds of fruits. I do not know how many innocent souls still believe this to be true, but I know that this is actually the lamest thing to believe now that I know the scientific reasoning. However, the idea should be about how a child’s mind thinks, as the child says that the tree might grow inside your stomach. The child knows the concept of a tree growing out of a seed. The way pure souls draw out conclusions and theories entirely based on their fascinations and limited knowledge is funny, as well as interesting in its own way.
When I hear kids inferring similar statements today, it gives me a hearty laugh, and I am compelled to believe no matter how much time passes, the reasons and childhood innocence will stay the same forever.
Safiya Khanam
I believed rainbows were just as vibrant, opaque and broad as we saw them in cartoons, or drew in kindergarten. And let me tell you, the first time I saw a rainbow, I was so disappointed and recalled feeling cheated. I am sure you all must have seen cartoons and pictures where they showed kids sliding down a rainbow, and that is exactly how I thought it would be. Mind you, I had grown up in a place where monsoons do not exist and rain is a rare occurrence, so I was genuinely excited to see a rainbow ever since I learned about it in kindergarten.
The first time I saw it, I was in the 1st or 2nd grade and saw an almost translucent semi-circle that was thin and just not the kind we drew. And definitely not the kind that could be slid on! I was so disappointed and even suggested that rainbows look different in different countries. Safe to say, it is still one moment my sibling loves to re-enact, and one of the stupidest things I believed in as a child.
Anushree Acharya
I won’t deny I had a wild imagination as a kid — I believed in some stupid things, but I will conveniently blame elders around me for some of them. As a kid, I loved eating chyawanprash, and to ensure that I didn’t eat more, my grandmother would hide the box behind the window of her kitchen. Every day when I asked for my daily dose, I was told that I need to wait till Shaktimaan gets it for me. I loved watching that show, so the elders found ways to fool me. I also loved eating chocolates, and to make sure that I didn’t take them all, my mother would hide them in secret. Whenever I asked her for chocolates, she would tell me she was going to the terrace when my father’s aeroplane passes by (he travelled a lot because of his job) and she would get them when he throws them at her. For a greater part of my childhood, I believed that every aeroplane which passed by was my father’s, and I got chocolates only when they’re thrown down by him.
As I grew, UFOs and aliens really fascinated me. I watched Alien Planet on Discovery Channel and read about aliens in various encyclopaedias. Every time I spied a weirdly shaped object with lights on it, I always assumed it to be a UFO and that aliens were passing by. Once, I talked about it with a group of friends and one of them cried because it terrified her! I still believe aliens exist, and I was quite a silly kid (I still am!) But that’s how kids are, right?
And what about you? What stupid thing did you believe in as a kid? Let us know in the comments below!
