Changing times

I love this time of the year.. Lot's of festivals & functions.. We have the Dasara for 10 whole days.. Sweets & special preparations every day!! Then it is Deepavali.. The joy of friends & relatives getting together & bursting crackers..

Also, there are a few functions now.. This time of the year is considered to be auspicious & you'll find a function almost every other day.. Last Sunday was some "Parayana" at my home.. There were about 50 relatives who came to our house. The week before that, it was my cousin's house Grihapravesha.. It was almost a 3 day event. I could attend only 2 days though. Next Sunday is the same cousin's engagement. So, all our relatives are getting together again..

It reminds me of my childhood when I used to go to my relatives' place so often.. Every other week, I used to visit my cousins' places. We used to go out together for movies, parks & such places. In holidays we all used to go to our parents native place & have fun.. During vacations, all children of same age group used to get together at one person's place & spend the holidays together.. During Deepavali, for the 3 days, we use to get together at 3 different places for each day & burst the crackers together in the evening after a nice heavy lunch..

All that remains is memories.. These days everyone's so busy. I would be happy if I could go to a relative's place once a year.. We all get together only at some special functions/occassions (like marriages, Grihapravesha, etc). Even at that time, many people may miss out.. I don't remember the last time all our relatives went to a movie.. I think the last time I went to a movie with my parents was more than 7-8 years ago.. I don't remember the last time I visited a park with my parents/brother/relatives.. The world is changing.. Nobody has time.. How come people had time 10-15 years ago?? What has happened now?