Things only Indians who grew up in the '90s would understand

The 90s was truly a golden era. Before smartphones, streaming platforms, and social media took over, entertainment meant waiting for your favourite TV show, rewinding cassettes with a pencil, playing Mario on cartridge consoles and spending endless summer vacations at your grandparents’ house. These may seem like simple, everyday moments today, but for millennials, they are the memories that shaped their childhood. Here are a few things that defined the golden era of '90s childhood.

Growing up in '90s India: 6 things millennials will instantly relate to

Waiting for your favourite TV Show

‘Naugadh Vijaygarh mein thi takraar, Naugadh ka tha jo Rajkumar…’ , if you were a ’90s kid, you would instantly recognise these lines as the iconic theme song of Chandrakanta, the popular fantasy series that had the entire family glued to the television every Sunday.

In the '90s, television wasn't something you could watch whenever you wanted. There was no Netflix, YouTube, or streaming platform where you could simply search for an episode. You waited for your favourite show to come on.

Sunday mornings meant DuckTales, TaleSpin, and The Jungle Book, while shows like Shaktimaan had children rushing home and fighting for the best spot in front of the television. If you missed an episode because you were out playing, there was no way to catch up later. You just had to ask your friends what happened. And soon Cartoon Network followed with shows like Captain Planet, Scooby Doo, and Flintstones to name a  few.

For the adults, there were shows like Mahabharat, Chandrakanta, and other family favourites that brought the entire family together. And probably that was the best part, become the entire family remained connected despite viewing television.

Playing outside until your parents called you home

Childhood in the '90s happened outdoors. The neighbourhood was their playground, and they didn't need much to turn an ordinary street into a world of adventure. A quiet lane could become a cricket stadium, a few stones could serve as wickets, and an empty plot could instantly transform into the perfect spot for a game of hide-and-seek.

There was always something to play—cricket, kho-kho, kabaddi, lagori, cycling or hide-and-seek—and somehow, there was never a shortage of friends or time. They simply stepped outside and went looking for their gang. And if they wanted to know whether a friend was home, there was no need to call or text. They just looked for their friend's bicycle parked outside. If the bicycle was there, they knew exactly where to go.

And for those who were a little more adventurous, there were always stories of haunted houses waiting to be investigated. A bunch of friends, a little courage and a lot of imagination were enough to turn an abandoned house into the evening's biggest adventure.Of course, no outdoor session was complete without a stop at the roadside ice-cream stall before heading home.

The magic of cassettes and mixtapes

If you wanted to hear your favourite song, you waited for it to play on the radio. And if you wanted to record it, you sat beside the cassette player, finger hovering over the record button, hoping the radio jockey wouldn't start talking halfway through the song.

Cassettes were precious—and incredibly fragile. If the tape got tangled, you didn't throw it away. You reached for a pencil and carefully wound it back into place, hoping you hadn't damaged it. And if you were making a mixtape, there was a whole process involved-choosing your favourite songs, getting them recorded, labelling the cassette, and then carefully writing down the song titles on the back.

Whether it was Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman, Alka Yagnik, or even Enrique Iglesias, you'd head to the nearest music store to get your favourite tracks recorded. And there was something oddly satisfying about neatly writing down the names of every song on the cassette cover.

Nokia, the snake game and the arrival of the internet

Today, it’s almost impossible to imagine life without a smartphone. But if you grew up in the 90s, getting your hands on a Nokia phone felt like the ultimate status symbol. That little phone was practically indestructible—you could drop it, toss it into your bag, and somehow it would still work perfectly. And then there was Snake, which could keep you hooked for hours. Watching that tiny snake grow longer while desperately trying not to crash into itself was a serious test of patience and skill.

Then came the internet, and suddenly, the world seemed to open up. But internet access came with its own set of rules. The most important one? Nobody was allowed to pick up the telephone while someone was online. And somehow, you always knew when a call was about to come in—the internet would start acting strange before the phone even rang.

When Yahoo Messenger and Orkut entered their lives, they became the new obsession. But unlike today, you couldn't simply pull out your phone and log in. You had to make your way to the nearest browsing centre, sit in front of a bulky computer, and watch the minutes on the screen tick away. And when your time was up, there was always that desperate request to the browsing-centre guy: “Anna, five minutes extra please!” Those five minutes felt like they were worth the world.

Video games meant cartridge consoles

For '90s kids, video games were a far cry from the high-end consoles and gaming PCs of today. Cartridge-based video-game consoles were the ultimate source of entertainment, and owning one often made a child the most popular kid in the neighbourhood.

Games like Super Mario, Contra, Road Fighter, Circus  and Duck Hunt could keep children occupied for hours. Friends would gather around the television, taking turns and fiercely competing for the highest score. There were no online multiplayer games or elaborate graphics—just a joystick, a few buttons and plenty of imagination.

And then there were the cartridges themselves. If the game suddenly froze or refused to load, they took the cartridge out, blew on it, wipe it and put it back as if it was practically a standard troubleshooting method.

Summer vacations meant going to their grandparents' house

For '90s kids, summer vacation meant packing a suitcase and heading to their grandparents' house, often by train, with cousins eagerly waiting at the other end. It wasn't about elaborate holiday plans or summer camps. It was about lazy afternoons, endless mangoes, chilled Rasna and lollipops, comic books and watching television with cousins.

Grandmothers always seemed to have an endless supply of snacks, while grandfathers had stories that could keep them fascinated for hours. And there was a certain sense of freedom that came with being at their grandparents' house—staying up late, waking up whenever they wanted and spending entire days outdoors without the constant reprimands of parents.

By the time the vacation came to an end, they would head back home with a suitcase full of memories and a few extra kilos. thanks to all the pampering and home-cooked food.

  For more updates, join/follow our

https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb677uz60eBXiDYheb0n

https://t.me/+qUK5DvyQQJI2NWFl

https://www.youtube.com/indulgeexpress