If you grew up in India in the ’90s, summer didn’t start with a date on the calendar — it began the moment school shut for the year. There were no alarms, no scheduled wake-ups, no digital planners. Just slow sun-drenched mornings, the hypnotic whirl of ceiling fans, and cousins arriving like an unexpected festival of fun.
Days were ruled not by clocks but by light. Fingers turned purple from peeling jamuns. Driveways turned into hopscotch boards. Laughter echoed over games of marbles and cricket. Even boredom felt like a blank page — wide open for imagination.
Today, as parents, we can’t help but wonder: can our kids ever know summer like that? With screens blinking from every corner and every free moment logged into structured activity, the carefree magic feels harder to hold onto.
But this summer, something beautiful happened.
From Science Centres to Superheroes — A Portal to the Past
It all began with a visit to the Goa Science Centre in Miramar — a gentle, breezy place filled with hands-on exhibits, a cozy mini planetarium, and an open-air science park. Among the curiosity and quiet learning, a Shaktimaan installation popped into view — the very same superhero who had once ruled Sunday mornings and school corridor debates.
Just one look, and the years dissolved. But more than nostalgia, there was joy in seeing the same wide-eyed excitement mirrored in a five-year-old’s face. A shared spark. Proof that some magic doesn’t age — it just waits to be rediscovered.
And that moment opened a door. What if we could bring back more? What if today’s kids could taste a summer slower, simpler, and just as sun-soaked?
Jungle Trails and Mango Hunts: The Goa Adventure
In Goa, one mother found her summer revival by stepping back into the jungles of her childhood. Wild berry foraging, mango-plucking, and chikoo hunts once filled her school breaks with wonder. Now, she’s passing on that same thrill by leading her children through the lush biodiversity of Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary and along the Mhadei River.
For city days, the Bhagwan Mahavir Bal Vihar Park in Panaji becomes their oasis — a small forest tucked inside the city, rich with native plants, birdsong, and winding green paths that spark curiosity.
Eco-tourism groups like Nature’s Nest Goa make it even more immersive with forest trails that feel like moving storybooks, complete with plant wisdom and real-time wildlife encounters.
Mumbai’s Recipe for Memory: Paint, Pedals, and Kulfi
In Mumbai, one family has turned summer into a series of tactile rituals — making kulfi from scratch, doing yoga on the lawn, painting stones picked up from walks, and riding cycles before the sun hits high noon.
Their version of summer flows through familiar places: the breeze along Marine Drive, the calm of Shivaji Park’s early morning yoga gatherings, and afternoons in parks like Priyadarshini or the Hanging Gardens, where sketchbooks and snacks form the perfect picnic combo.
In the city’s greener corners, places like Aarey Colony provide space to breathe. Families sketch butterflies, watch egrets glide over ponds, or just lie under a flaming gulmohar, tracing shapes in the clouds.
From Borivali’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park — with its canopy trails and toy trains — to the serene mornings at Powai Lake Promenade or the tucked-away beauty of Bhandup Pumping Station, Mumbai offers countless spots where kids can grow memories far from screens.
And for that sweet, nostalgic reward? There’s always malai kulfi from Parsi Dairy Farm. Or better yet, make your own and follow it up with a creative afternoon at Bhau Daji Lad Museum’s family craft workshops.
Gola Trails and Memory Lanes in Delhi
In New Delhi, a mother recently introduced her daughter to barf ka gola — a colourful, syrupy blast from her own childhood. That icy treat was once the unofficial mascot of Indian summer, and its magic clearly lives on.
Across the city, it’s easy to find echoes of that era. Gola vendors still park their carts near India Gate, Dilli Haat, and Old Delhi. The hum of water coolers, the calls of koels, the rustle of comics under ceiling fans — all remain, if you know where to look.
In Gurgaon’s Aravalli Biodiversity Park, families explore the rugged trails with sketchbooks in hand, noting the trees, the birds, and the memory of a wilder Delhi. And in East Delhi, the Yamuna Biodiversity Park becomes the perfect ending to a hot day — lemonade in hand, feet in the grass, and time spent watching the wild grasses sway.
Evenings spent chasing golas, swapping stories, and lying on mats under open skies still have the power to make summer stretch.
Dehradun Diaries: Music, Pen Fights, and Forest Frolics
In Dehradun, summer has become a mixtape of retro melodies and childhood games. A mother and her two kids have revived classics like pen fights and Name, Place, Animal, Thing, setting them against a soundtrack of Lucky Ali, Euphoria, and the Backstreet Boys.
Their playground? The majestic Forest Research Institute — with its endless lawns and grand halls, it transforms learning into an adventure. Whether it’s frisbee under tall trees, hopscotch drawn on old pathways, or simply singing in the shade, the campus brings childhood back to life.
And when the family heads further out to Sahastradhara’s cool springs or enjoys a retro playlist picnic in MDDA Park, every note and every splash becomes a new-old memory.
Cafés like Orchard Café on Rajpur Road provide the perfect throwback setting — soft lighting, old-school hits, and the kind of relaxed vibe where families can sing out loud without shame. For an added touch of vintage, The Vintage Record Store sells classic CDs and vinyls — the same tunes that once blasted from Walkmans and tape decks across the country.
Back to the 90s, One Rasna Sip at a Time
Whether it’s climbing trees in Goa, biking through Mumbai dawns, licking gola syrup off your fingers in Delhi, or belting out Boyzone in Dehradun — families across India are proving that the slow, soulful joy of 90s summers isn’t lost.
In fact, it’s right where we left it — in long games of Ludo, in gulps of Rasna, in paper boats floating through monsoon puddles. It just takes a little effort, and a lot of heart, to bring it back.
So this summer, trade screens for sunlight. Swap schedules for spontaneity. Pull out the comic books, chalk up the sidewalks, and gather the kids around for a game that ends in laughter, not a leaderboard.
Because childhood doesn’t need to be rebooted. It just needs to be remembered.