Swamy stickers are very popularly used during the 1980’s especially by the small children. Children would even fight with each other to procure their favourite film star stickers from the roadside shops, and after getting it, with a happy smile, they used to stick it on their shirts, bags and also on their belts. But nowadays the usage of Swamy stickers is reduced and it is used mainly for sticking it on the two-wheelers and on the cars.
Some children would keep a separate note book in order to affix the Swamy Stickers on it. Similar to Swamy Stickers the usage of carbon papers was popular between the young children, and some of them would draw pictures using white papers, by keeping the carbon papers inside the Swamy pictures of the magazines, and later they would claim it as if it was originally drawn by them!
Swamy Stickers would also decorate the puja rooms of the people, and the life period of the stickers is based on its quality. We can also get the Alphabets, A to Z, Stickers from the Pudupet area of Chennai, where lot of automobile shops are located!
During Ayyappa Mandala Season period, some of the GuruSwamy’s would distribute Lord AyyappaSwamy Stickers among the Ayyappa Devotees, as a token of showing their gratefulness on Lord Ayyappa.
When I was studying in school, I used to see that some of the poor children would draw pictures on the white paper, later they used to cut it, and would paste it on the books using rice paste, by considering it to be their own sticker. In my puja room I am having some beautiful stickers of the deities, which I have got it as a present from one of my friends.
But nowadays, children are not having that much interest with stickers, since they are travelling in the modern world!
But whatever maybe, old is gold only. During our childhood, tasting of Stick (Kuchi) Ice cream, buying of some sweet items, which would be made in the form of watch and ring, buying of Swamy Stickers, Tasting of Soan Papdi from the push cart Soan Papdi Vendor, and it was very excitement to hear the “Ding”, “Ding”, sound of the bell of the Soan Papdi Vendor. Before 30 years ago, when there was no internet and cable Television facility, we would be very much interested to watch the “OLIYUM, OLIYUM”, from our precious Television set, and it would be usually telecasted during every Friday nights.
But now since we are able to watch everything from our mobile phones itself, sometimes we are getting bored to watch even some interesting incidents, since eating too much of sweet would always lead to bitterness.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR