𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬

People often say, "Times have changed.” When I look back, I realise how deeply true that is—not just in the world around us, but in the small, intimate details of growing up.

Today, a child is wrapped in comfort almost from the moment they arrive—bathed, dressed neatly in soft clothes, cared for with a sense of immediacy we could never have imagined. In my childhood, such things came slowly, almost ceremonially. I remember beginning to wear proper undergarments only when I reached Grade Six; even a simple lower was something I started wearing around the age of five or six. Life unfolded in stages, not in haste.

Back then, necessities were not a click away. People walked miles—sometimes barefoot, sometimes in worn-out slippers—just to bring home salt and oil. Those journeys were not complaints; they were routines, woven into the rhythm of life. And mornings had a different meaning altogether. I never saw anyone lying in bed after dawn. The day began with the first light, and with it came a quiet sense of duty.

School, too, carried a different air. Teachers were figures of awe, respected, even feared, and marks were earned with effort, not expectation. When I scored fifty-one percent in my CBSE exams, it was a moment of pride so immense that my mother celebrated it by buying toffees and distributing them in school. That modest score carried the weight of hard work and joy.

Today, the same number might bring embarrassment to a child who has grown up in a world of higher benchmarks and louder competition. Success has been redefined, and with it, perhaps, the way we measure happiness.

Yes, time has changed, but along the way, I often wonder if we have lost something quietly precious: the simplicity of effort, the dignity of small achievements, and the joy of being content with what we had.

🤔😁😄