Voice of India Debojit Saha writes on an issue close to his heart

These days, as Bandana and I are devoting most of our affection, energy and attention on raising Danika, our five-month-old daughter, my thoughts often invariably wing their way to my childhood.

It is incredible to realise how different her childhood is turning out to be from mine — our value system and family structure having changed considerably.

I grew up in a joint family surrounded by a host of uncles, aunts and cousins at my ancestral house in Palonghat near Silchar. The immediate memory that comes to my mind from those early days is that of a big house with lot of space to play. There was not a single moment of solitude.

When I grew up, I often heard my mother say that she did not even realise how my infancy passed off on the lap of my grandparents, uncles and aunts.

What a contrast that was from children being raised these days by nannies or at childcare centres.

That level of inter-dependence and co-operation among members of a family has sadly all but vanished from our society as the joint family system has made way to nuclear families.

There is no denying that the nuclear family model has its merits. It gives us an opportunity to help build our identity and become self-dependent from the very early days. It is, however, making us self-centric and loners. The physical distance from members of the family is bound to make us fade away from their hearts and minds.

I have moved to Mumbai to make my career. Back home in Silchar, my father lives alone. I know a few elderly people living a lonely life in Mumbai far away from their NRI children.

From the experiences they share with me, I can tell with conviction that it is not an ideal situation, though we cannot do much to alter it.

From my childhood, things have really changed. I often recollect with nostalgia how my cousins and I used to huddle together to take a bath in the stream near our Palonghat house.

Most of my playtime, as that of any other children of that generation, was spent outdoors. It is a pity that my daughter and her generation will not even know the existence of such unadulterated fun as they will grow up playing computer games and remain glued to TV sets inside the four walls of cosy apartments.

The longing for the days gone by intensifies as I get ready for another busy day at work.