Power cut 'Memories'

I remember my childhood when in summers there was a specific time and duration for what we call 'power cut' in late evening. And that was time we all used to wait for. Our parents made sure we completed our homework by then, all their house hold work completed. When the moment came, lights went off everywhere. And an uproar of 'light gayiiiiii' was heard across. All the kids were out on the street. The only lights were candles at home, oil lit lamps at temples, moon and star shine. Hide and seek was best played like this. All the ladies used to gather and gossip, men used to discuss politics or office. Balconies and streets were filled with people. Everyone knew everyone. Teenage gangs played Antakshari and most of the time it was boys v/s girls version. If one was slightly more knowledgeable and wanted to show off, planets, stars, bikes were discussed.
There were some days when we didn't go to play, but used to sit with mom dad and granny and listen to a story or gaze at stars and guess the zodiac. Irrespective of which state of India the 80s n 90s kids spent their childhood in, most of  them will be able to relate to all this.
With time, came 'emergency lights'. Candles started fading. But the evening play time in the dark was still intact.
Next came the era of inverters. And the end of darkness! But this end is a sad one. Less kids are seen playing outside. Neighbors hardly know each other. Stars..hardly seen. Games are now played online, friends made online, story telling is slowly fading (will surely write about story telling in a later blog). Power cuts are no more known to kids, unless the inverter totally goes off.
What an irony..'Light has engulfed the beauty of darkness'.