Young Professionals: Not quite out of childhood yet

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Vidoushi Akung: “My favourite remains my little doll”

25-year old Vidoushi Akung works at MGI and is very choosy about her things. “I am very protective and can be quite possessive when it comes to my belongings. I like to preserve each memory and create my own little world within the four walls of my bedroom. As far as I remember, I used to name each and every one of my dolls. But my favourite remains Hope. With time, she has lost her colour and shine, but she remains very precious. My father gave me this doll for Christmas. Similarly, I have been gifted a lot of teddy bears which are still with me. As a child, I was very fond of figurines, mostly Disney ones,” she avers. All her toys are present in her room, and they create a soothing and joyful environment. “I have many memories attached to these toys. They are some form of an essence to life for me. I will always keep them close as they form part of my life,” she adds.

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Aruna Emerith: “I have my toys for almost 15 years”

25-year old Aruna Emerith works in the education sector. She has been collecting all her toys as from her first birthday. “I have a small dog toy which I got when I was just one year old. It was my grandmother’s Christmas present. I also have other toys that have been with me for almost 15 years now. They are still in very good condition. My mother has kept my toys in a cupboard but I regularly clean them. I was really pampered for Christmas and used to get lots of teddy bears and kitchen sets. I still have two cars, one of them is a bit damaged but I have kept it with me. However, unfortunately, the kitchen sets have been either lost or broken. As a kid I used to hug my teddy bear while sleeping. It is not a burden at all to keep my toys and I will cherish them all my life,” she says. Aruna loves December as it is also her birthday month. “On every Christmas, after setting the tree and decorations, I place all these toys below the tree,” she says.

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Thierry Joomun : “I received an aeroplane on 26 December 1990”

35-year old Thierry Joomun is an accounts officer in the property sector. He was really amazed when we asked him if he has a childhood toy. He cannot believe that he still has his aeroplane of 25 years. “I received this aeroplane on 26 December 1990. I just passed my CPE exams and my uncle gave it to me. The strobe lights, the doors opening and closing, the sound itself during acceleration, everything sounds like a real airplane during a take off. This made it so special. In fact, my uncle gave me the smaller airplane and shared the bigger ones with my cousins who broke theirs but I kept mine and it still works pretty well with battery cells. Since that very day, I started showing an interest in aircrafts,” he confides. This animated toy changed his perception on aviation and instils a sense of admiration. “Although I used to play Flight Simulator (FSX) on my PC, adding new PMDG planes and so on, I still conceive an appreciation for this animated toy which has given me a lot of pleasure. I preserve it with affection,” he adds.

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Eirshad Owadally: “I was really fascinated with a toy gun”

Marketing officer Eirshad Owadally narrates his childhood years spent with his toy gun which he has had since the age of five. “Like every other boy, I was really fascinated with toy guns and mostly the cowboy types. My uncle gifted me a toy firearm. I still remember how I acted like a movie hero with it, forcing my cousins to play the role of villains. Many times, the gun fell down but luckily it never broke. It is very special as it came from Spain,” he shares. The young man has many sweet and unforgettable memories with his firearm. “Once, I left the firearm at my cousin’s place in Grand Bay. At that time, I was around eight years old. I cried a lot the whole night and did not sleep. My father had to go to Grand Bay by bus in the early morning to get back the gun. I used to keep the gun below my pillow every night. I also acted like Shah Rukh Khan with it. Today, whenever, I see the gun, I cherish all those memories and narrate them to my nephews,” he states. Eirshad intends to keep his firearm all his life as it symbolizes his childhood. “The type of toys we had were different from modern ones,” he says.

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Veerendra Kooshna: “I remember how my childhood was”

23-year old Veerendra Kooshna is an account officer, he still remembers his passion for replica cars as a child. “I was gifted several small cars but I used to open them with screwdrivers and try to repair them. But for one particular car, I did not open its box. It was so special and beautiful that I it kept safely. It is the only childhood gift I have. I was around seven when my maternal uncle gifted me this car,” he says. His replica car reminds him of his childhood. “Whenever I see the car, I remember how my childhood was. How I used to play with friends, shooting and laughing. How happy were those days! Unlike today, we see children playing more on their own. Video games have taken over,” he relates.